Please Forgive Me Read online

  PLEASE FORGIVE ME

  Written by

  Kate William

  Created by

  FRANCINE PASCAL

  Copyright © 2015, Francine Pascal

  To Allison Dale Stone

  Clenching his jaw, Devon yanked Todd with all his might. The belt loop broke, and he and Todd tumbled to the ground just as the barrier broke completely, sending the Jeep smashing into the rocks hundreds of feet below.

  Sprawled across the road with Todd's dead-weight on top of him, Devon struggled to catch his breath as his adrenaline-induced strength disappeared. He rested on the blacktop a few seconds, then eased himself from beneath Todd, carefully laying Todd's head on the road.

  "Todd!" Elizabeth cried, throwing herself over his motionless body.

  Devon gently reached down and pulled Elizabeth away. "It's best not to move him or touch him right now," he told her. "He's been pretty badly shaken."

  "Oh, Devon," Elizabeth cried, burying her head in his shoulder.

  Devon held her close to him. "It'll be all right, Liz," he comforted her as they waited for an ambulance. But Devon wondered how truthful he was being. Todd had been seriously hurt. He'd suffered a severe blow to his skull and maybe internal injuries they didn't know about.

  Elizabeth lifted her head, desperately searching Devon's eyes. "Todd can't die," she told him. "I can't live without him."

  Visit the Official Sweet Valley Web Site on the Internet at:

  http://www.sweetvalley.com

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 1

  Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Wakefield paced the oak floor of her living room, an angry frown wrinkling her forehead. It was Sunday evening. Outside, Todd Wilkins—Elizabeth's longtime boyfriend until a little over a week ago—was pounding on the front door, begging her to listen.

  Elizabeth blocked her ears and paced even harder. As she passed the walnut coffee table her eyes fell on an unopened box of imported Belgian chocolates and a bouquet of yellow roses that Todd had sent her. The roses were called Yellow Sunblaze because of the brilliant pink that edged their lemon yellow petals. They were some of Elizabeth's favorite flowers, but now she couldn't bear to look at them. Not after what had happened that afternoon at the Dairi Burger between Todd and Devon Whitelaw.

  Elizabeth covered her ears more tightly as Todd continued to beg her to listen from the other side of the door. The cards he'd sent her filled the coffee table—cute, funny, and romantic cards, all begging Elizabeth's forgiveness. There were so many, they obscured the wood-framed portraits of her family and pieces of lopsided pottery that her mother had saved from Elizabeth, Jessica, and Steven's grade-school days. A few of Todd's cards had been opened, but most—like the chocolates—remained sealed.

  Mixed in with Todd's gifts were presents from Devon Whitelaw. There was a bottle of liquid the blue-green color of Elizabeth's eyes that Devon had made in chem lab, a heart-shaped wreath composed of pink tea roses and baby's breath, and a leather-bound edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poems, inscribed, These words barely touch the surface of my feelings for you. Elizabeth would have loved these things once, but now they just heightened the confusion and hurt pulsing through her veins. The two of them are even bigger idiots than I thought if they think they can buy my love, she told herself angrily.

  "Liz, please! Just let me explain!" Todd yelled from the other side of the door.

  "Leave me alone!" Elizabeth yelled back. "Just get out of my life!" The pounding stopped, and a moment later she heard the sound of Todd's BMW screeching out of the driveway. Good, she thought. She didn't want to hear explanations. Todd would never be able to explain what had happened at the Dairi Burger—would never be able to justify how the two boys she cared for most in the world had ended up fighting like wild animals in the name of love.

  Angry tears welled in her eyes as she recalled last week, when everything had started. It had all happened so innocently. A harmless flirtation with Devon in chem lab that had grown into a full-blown love affair. She had never meant to hurt Todd, but she hadn't been able to control her heart.

  When her twin sister, Jessica, had found out about Elizabeth and Devon, she'd freaked. Jessica had wanted Devon for herself and had seen an opportunity to get revenge on Elizabeth by setting up Courtney Kane with Todd. Courtney—tall and curvaceous, with shiny mahogany hair and eyes the color of smoke—was one of the biggest snobs Elizabeth had ever met. A student at posh Lovett Academy, Courtney had tried to steal Todd from Elizabeth before and had been only too happy to try to steal him again.

  At first Elizabeth had felt a twinge of jealousy when she learned about Todd and Courtney. But then she had reasoned that if she was seeing Devon, Todd should be able to see someone too. When she had asked Todd to meet her at the Dairi Burger this afternoon, it had been to tell him how happy she was that he'd found someone. She had wanted to tell Todd it was OK for him to give Courtney the beautiful silver ring he'd bought for the anniversary of Elizabeth's first published story.

  Elizabeth grimaced as she recalled the hopeful, pained look in Todd's eyes when he'd given her the ring. It had been a lovely gesture. Ever since Elizabeth was a little girl, it had been her dream to be a writer. Getting her first article published in Sweet Valley High's student newspaper, the Oracle, had been a major event for her. But because she had started seeing Devon, she hadn't thought it was right to accept Todd's anniversary gift. Still, she cared about Todd. She had wanted to tell him that at the Dairi Burger—to ask him if they could still be friends.

  "But Jessica had other plans," Elizabeth mumbled to herself as she paced. She and Todd had talked for a long while, a conversation full of feelings and memories that had reminded her of why she loved Todd in the first place. She'd begun to wonder if maybe Todd hadn't been right for her all along. As they had become more comfortable they had started to talk about the past week. Eventually she and Todd had put two and two together and realized Jessica had been behind the whole Courtney scheme.

  It was at that moment that Jessica, Devon, and Courtney had stormed into the Dairi Burger. When Devon had seen Elizabeth with Todd, he'd lost it, and so had Todd. Devon, in a rage, had told Todd to leave Elizabeth alone. Todd, believing he was losing his one chance to get Elizabeth back, had dropped to his knees and proposed to her, offering her the silver ring to seal their engagement.

  After that the situation had truly spiraled out of control. A shoving match had begun, and before Elizabeth had known what was happening, Devon and Todd had started fighting like a couple of Neanderthals. Elizabeth had begged someone to stop them—had even gotten bruised herself trying to break up the fight. It was humiliating and horrible. How could both of them be such immature animals? she had asked herself as she ran from the Dairi Burger, Todd, who was always so warm and considerate, Devon with his sensitive nature and brilliant mind?

  Elizabeth flung out her hand angrily, knocking a slew of Todd's cards to the floor. It's all Jessica's fault, she told herself. If she hadn't brought Devon and Courtney to the Dairi Burger, this would never have happened. Jessica had done some pretty sleazy scheming in the past, but nothing this hateful.

  Tears welled in Elizabeth's eyes, blurring the gifts and cards. She could never forgive Jessica for this—never! The tears came harder, and she flung herself onto the couch. Upstairs she could hear the shower running in the bathroom she and Jessica shared. The thought of Jessica going nonchalantly about her daily life after what she had done just made Elizabeth cry harder.

  Burying her head in a throw pillow, Elizabeth wept her heart out. Suddenly through her sobs she heard the phone begin to ring. Her parents were out. She and Jessica were alone in the house, and Jessica would never hear the phone over the shower.

  Elizabeth considered just letting the voice mail system take the call. But what if it's important and the caller hangs up before the voice mail answers? she thought. Swiping at her tears, she ran to the hallway and grabbed the receiver. "Hello?" she said in a shaky voice.

  "Liz, finally!" It was Devon. "I've been trying to reach you all afternoon," he said. "I needed to tell you—"

  Elizabeth cut him off. "There's nothing you can tell me I don't already know," she cried angrily. Then she slammed the receiver down, her tears breaking loose in a cascade of confusion and pain.

  Sobbing, she ran upstairs toward her room. Jessica was just coming out of the bathroom. Her wavy blond hair was wrapped in a thick pink towel. She was wearing a fluffy white bathrobe and matching slippers, smiling contentedly as if everything was absolutely fine. Elizabeth shot her a furious look. "I hope you're happy!" she yelled. Then she ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her before she threw herself across the bed.

  Devon stared at the receiver, hearing the buzz of Elizabeth's disconnected line like the disappointing echo of his existence. His slate blue eyes flashed with pain as he dropped the receiver back in its cradle and paced the small but lovingly arranged room Nan had set up for him when he moved to Sweet Valley.

  He smiled bitterly, recalling how he'd thought he'd finally found a home when he first came here. Nan Johnstone—his childhood nanny—had been his last refuge. For months Devon had been searching for a ho
me, a place where he would be loved after his uncaring parents were killed in a car crash. His father's will had stipulated that Devon couldn't receive his full inheritance until he was twenty-one—four years from now—and then only if he found a guardian he could stay with for those four years.

  Devon had considered forfeiting the inheritance. He had enough to live on without it, and money had so far given him more misery than happiness. But the truth was, Devon had desperately wanted a family, people who would care about him for who he was and not what he had. He'd thought a guardian might be just what he'd been looking for all his life.

  He'd packed up and headed to his cousins' house in Ohio, where he had spent a fortune fixing up their house—"so he'd be comfortable" as his aunt Peggy kept assuring him—before he accepted the fact that they'd only been after his money. After that he had headed out to find his uncle Pete in Las Vegas. He hadn't told his uncle about his inheritance, thinking that he would be able to figure out if Uncle Pete really cared for him or not.

  As it turned out, Uncle Pete wasn't interested in his money—he wouldn't even let Devon help pay rent or expenses. Devon had thought he'd finally found someone who legitimately cared. But Uncle Pete was sneaky and had used Devon in other ways. Pete was a jewel thief and had tricked Devon into carrying stolen jewels to his partner.

  After those two disastrous attempts at finding a guardian, Devon had all but given up. Then the letter came from Nan. At first he was suspicious. She hadn't contacted him in all the years since she'd left his father's employ. Why was she writing to him now? He couldn't help believing that she'd heard about his inheritance too and hoped to get her hands on some of it. But he'd come to Sweet Valley anyway, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

  Then one day, when Nan was out, Devon had found a box of letters addressed to him, marked Return to Sender. It turned out Nan had been writing him letters for years and his parents had sent all her letters back, unopened. Nan had told him it was because his parents hadn't wanted him to be too dependent on her, but he knew she was being kind. The real reason was that they were jealous because Devon loved Nan more than he loved them. Devon shook his head in disgust. What had his parents expected? Nan was the only one who had ever cared about him.

  Devon moved to the window, running an agitated hand through his thick dark hair. Outside, the North Star was rising above the palm tree in Nan's front yard. It wasn't so long ago, he recalled, that he'd watched that same star rise above his home in Westwood, Connecticut. Not so long ago that he would have said it had guided him to Sweet Valley—to Nan and Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth. Just the thought of what he'd lost made him want to lash out in frustration and pain. When he'd found Elizabeth, he'd thought his luck had finally changed. His partner in chemistry lab, she was completely different from any girl he'd ever met—witty and smart and real. She wasn't interested in his money or the things he could give her. She wasn't interested in his Harley-Davidson motorcycle or his looks—just him.

  But when he finally felt it was safe to open up, when he finally was beginning to allow himself to feel something, she had turned on him like all the others. How foolish of him to have left himself open like that. How dangerous.

  Well, he told himself as he turned from the window, it won't happen again. From now on he would keep his distance, make sure his armor was good and strong. He might be alone forever, but he wouldn't be hurt again.

  "Honestly," Jessica muttered as she examined the array of gifts and cards in the Wakefields' living room. "I don't know what all the fuss is about." Two of the cutest guys in school were begging Elizabeth to forgive them, sending her gifts, and she was acting like the world had come to an end.

  Jessica tossed her sunny yellow hair over her shoulders and brushed a piece of lint off the pale blue and white sweater she'd pulled on to go with her jeans. Maybe she had gone a bit far, she conceded, but it wasn't all her fault. After all, she'd seen Devon first, in the parking lot of Sweet Valley High. As soon as their eyes had met she'd known she had to have him. And Elizabeth knew how strongly Jessica felt about Devon.

  But Elizabeth had started digging her claws into Devon behind Jessica's back. She'd managed to steal Devon away even though she was still going out with Todd. Elizabeth had made a date to meet Devon at the Box Tree Café but backed out at the last minute, feeling guilty about Todd.

  What infuriated Jessica more than anything was that Elizabeth had sent Jessica to meet Devon in her place but hadn't bothered to tell Jessica that Devon was expecting Elizabeth. It wasn't until Devon called Jessica Elizabeth that Jessica realized what had happened. Elizabeth had broken down and told Jessica the truth only after Jessica had made a fool of herself, pretending to be Elizabeth until she and Devon kissed and he figured it out.

  It was Elizabeth's fault the date had gone bad, Jessica decided—Elizabeth's fault that Devon couldn't think of anyone but her And now Elizabeth was blaming Jessica for everything that had happened to Todd and Devon and her. Like Jessica didn't have every right to get revenge on all three of them. It hadn't only been Elizabeth and Devon who'd treated her badly.

  Jessica ripped the gold foil off Elizabeth's box of Belgian chocolates and popped one into her mouth, sinking down on the couch as the rich chocolate coated her tongue. It was as smooth as the plan she'd devised, she thought—definitely one of her better schemes.

  "Too bad it completely backfired," Jessica muttered.

  Todd had asked Jessica to help him get Elizabeth to the surprise publishing anniversary picnic he was planning for her. Even though Jessica knew Elizabeth was hot for Devon, for Todd's sake she had agreed. Elizabeth was supposed to meet Jessica at her locker after school, then Jessica was going to take Elizabeth to Todd's surprise picnic. But instead Jessica had found Devon and Elizabeth kissing in a playing field behind the school.

  Furious, Jessica had driven to the beach where Todd had asked her to drop Elizabeth off, "Where's Elizabeth?" Todd had demanded when he realized the Wakefield twin coming toward him wasn't Elizabeth but Jessica.

  Angrily, Jessica had told Todd about seeing Elizabeth and Devon together. "If we were to start going out together, we would completely shock Liz," she'd suggested, cozying up to Todd, wanting revenge. "She would get just what she deserves." What better way to get even than to make Elizabeth jealous of her own sister and boyfriend?

  But Todd had refused to believe her and had left her sitting on the beach alone. No one does that to Jessica Wakefield, she reminded herself, popping another chocolate into her mouth.

  That's when she'd hit on the Courtney Kane plan. Todd's vulnerable, she'd told Courtney. You just happen to bump into him when he most needs to see a friendly face. Jessica knew that once Elizabeth realized what she'd lost, she'd go running back to him—but with Courtney around, it would be too late. Then Jessica had learned that Elizabeth was meeting Todd at the Dairi Burger to tell him she still wanted to be friends. Jessica realized her whole plan would be ruined if Todd and Elizabeth put their heads together and figured out she was behind everything.

  The only way to stop them was to have Courtney and Devon show up at the Dairi Burger at the same time as Elizabeth and Todd—let Courtney and Devon see what was happening behind their backs and put a stop to it. But it had been too late. By the time Devon and Courtney got there, Todd and Elizabeth had already figured out Jessica's scheme.

  Of course, now everyone was furious with her. Elizabeth wasn't talking to her. Devon hated her. And Todd told Courtney he didn't want to see her anymore, so now Jessica had an enemy at a whole other school.

  It's so unfair, Jessica thought, closing the box of chocolates. If Elizabeth was more like her, she'd see she had really gotten herself into this mess. Sure, the twins looked exactly alike, with their sun-streaked blond hair, blue-green eyes, and the same dimple in their left cheek. But that's where the similarities ended.

  Jessica liked excitement and fun, and she did everything possible to make things that way. She was a cocaptain of the cheerleading squad, threw super parties, was totally active in the Pi Beta Alpha sorority, and loved looking as good as she felt, which meant shopping, shopping, shopping.