Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James Read Free Book Online Page B

But as I walk closer I start to think that maybe this girl is not as friendly as she looks, or that there’s something really bad about her. And then, when I’m standing right in front of her, I see that she’s actually me , that she’s got my face, and all of a sudden I know what that means. To see my own face like that. It means that I’m going to die, and I’m just so scared … and I try to turn away, to get away from this girl … but she smiles, a really horrible, evil smile. And I try to run and she starts laughing and laughing and, of course, I can’t get away. And then I wake up.” Rachel looked at Carly. “It’s really scary. I know it doesn’t sound that bad, but it’s terrifying. This girl, this me-girl, is like some kind of death messenger.”
    “Erk, that sounds totally creepy.” Carly shuddered. “No wonder it freaks you out.”
    “Why don’t you lie down in here for a while,” I suggest to Rachel. “Try and get back to sleep. You’ve got that big rehearsal tomorrow. You need to rest.”
    Rachel got into my bed. I pulled the covers up over her and went back to sit next to Carly on the rug.
    “So?” Carly nudged me. “Continue, please. What did Will do next?”
    I shook my head. “No,” I whispered. “Wait till Rachel’s asleep.”
    “I know what you’re talking about,” Rachel called from the bed. “I know you’re talking about boys and stuff. I heard you when I came in before. Don’t stop because of me. I don’t care. Honestly. I won’t even listen.”
    Carly raised her eyebrows as if to say, See? No big deal .
    “You promise?” I said. “Promise you won’t listen, Rach?”
    “I can barely keep my eyes open,” she said. “I’ll be asleep before you even say two words. And I don’t want to know what you and Will do to each other, believe me. It’s gross.”
    And so I told Carly what had happened between Will and me. I told her almost everything in a rushed and quiet voice so that Rachel couldn’t hear. At least, I told her about the physical stuff, but I left out what we’d said to each other. I didn’t tell her how we laughed with wonder and joy, how we whispered tender words and promised to love each other forever. The loving words we’d exchanged were sacred, and I kept them to myself.
    T he following day Carly and I met Rachel after her piano rehearsal. We’d recently started drinking coffee, and we liked nothing better than going to a café and sitting over a cappuccino for as long as we could—watching the other people, gossiping about our friends. It felt like a grown-up thing to do.
    We took Rachel to the café with us that day, and she talked about how excited she was about her upcoming concert. The other musicians were fantastic, she said, and they all saw completely eye to eye about how to interpret the piece they were going to perform. I liked talking about music, and I knew the people Rachel was talking about so I was interested. But after a while I could see that Carly was getting bored; her eyes were drifting, and she started tapping her fingers impatiently.
    “Carly,” I said. “Hello? Are we boring you to death?”
    “Sorry.” Rachel’s cheeks flushed. “I’m going on and on about this, aren’t I? It’s just so exciting. Sorry. Let’s talk about something else.”
    Carly dismissed Rachel’s apology with a shake of her head. “What time do you two have to be home?” she asked.
    “No particular time for me.” I looked at Rachel. “But you have to get home and practice.”
    Rachel glanced at her watch. “Yes. But there’s plenty of time.”
    “You know Jake and Ross and those guys?” Carly looked at me, and I could tell by the way she smiled that she had a plan I wouldn’t want Rachel to be a part of.
    “Yeah.” I knew them vaguely. They were from the boys’ school and were a grade ahead of Carly and me. They were in a band and were known for being both very wild and very popular.
    “They’re having band practice this