Sweet Deadly Lies (A Dark Academia Mystery) Watty Winner ✔️

One

Trigger Warning:

Sweet Deadly Lies is a young adult mystery/thriller that may contain triggers for sensitive readers. There will be mentions of mental health issues, murder, suicide, mild drug use, and underage drinking. Reader discretion is advised.

Please add this story to your
public reading list so more people can find it!

🔘

I was smoking a joint when I found out my sister was dead. 

It was a lazy Sunday in March, and Tracy Kyle had lifted a bag of weed from her brother's stash. I'd just packed a cone and took a hit when Mom called my cell. She never called my cell. Reluctantly, I answered, but couldn't understand her through the choking and tears.

When I finally made sense of her gasps for air and broken sentences, I threw up the turkey avocado wrap I had for lunch.

Ava was found at the bottom of the cliffs at Maliseet Bay Classical Academy, a coed boarding school on the scenic coast of Maine.

Most nights after that, I laid awake imagining the moment she fell from that rocky ledge into the sea. Arms and legs sailing through the air. A scream stolen from her lips by the wind. Her delicate body broken, skin pale as bone, and golden hair like tangles of seaweed among the Atlantic's crashing waves.

An accident or intentional, no one could say. But I knew Mom's suspicions—history repeating itself and all.

Weeks later, I sorted through Ava's paintings and came across something unexpected. A folded piece of paper clinging to the backside of a canvas, and inside an anonymous message scrawled in pomegranate Sharpie—a discontinued color I recognized from our childhood collection.

Ava was the kindest person I've ever known. The patient daughter, the loyal friend. The annoyingly perfect sister. Everything she touched turned to gold. SAT scores. Music. The arts.

Swallowing my last sip of whiskey, I tossed the empty bottle in the trash and read the note again as an odd sensation crept over my skin.

No matter how hard I willed the message from my memory, the cryptic words repeated inside my head:

Ava Greenley, if you know what's good for you, don't you dare say a word.

There was no question in my mind, no inkling of uncertainty, as to what I must do.

🔘

Thank you for checking out my dark academia thriller! I don't typically leave author notes, so you can enjoy the story uninterrupted. This story is free with one paid exclusive chapter if you would like a deeper look into the worst day of Mia's life.

Disclaimer: this should be considered a first draft. If you are reading Sweet Deadly Lies anywhere other than W a t t p a d, the site you are on has stolen it from me and you are at risk of a malware attack.

If you're looking for more dark reads, my recent project is now complete!