Body and Soul (Body and Soul Trilogy) by Jamie Loeak Read Free Book Online Page B

and ivory skin. Adriana wore a black bikini and a dark sheer dress to cover the exposed skin on her midriff. She was thin, like Kate, but shorter by about three inches. She carried wedges in her hand again, and Kate suspected that she didn’t like being small.
    “Hey, I know you just got back, but I was wondering if you wanted to have a sleepover at my house,” Adriana asked. “I’m home alone tonight and don’t really want to stay by myself. Rico’s been pretty cryptic lately but he’s making it sound like it’s not safe around here anymore. Do you think your parents would let you stay?”
    Kate blinked. Were the demons invading this small town? Or was Rico just making sure that Adriana stayed cautious like Kate? Whatever the reason, Kate was certain that Rico wasn’t kidding around with Adriana. He hadn’t been kidding around with Kate when he told her not to talk to strangers; in fact, she had been chastised for doing just the thing that he had asked her not to. Kate assumed that he hinted that Adriana sleep with a friend tonight.
    “I think so,” Kate said, hoping that her parents would allow her to sleep over. She felt the sudden need to watch over Adriana, to protect her, like Rico protected Kate.
    When Kate walked inside her house, her parents were dancing around the kitchen in a fit of romance. An idea burst in her mind.
    “Hey, Mom, Dad, do you mind if I spend the night at Adriana’s house? She’s the girl that I went fishing with a couple days ago. I know you’ve been hanging around me all weekend, so I assume you want to be alone.” This had to work.
    Kate’s mother turned to face h er. “Of course, dear,” she said distractedly.
    Aaron, however, turned to Kate. “Are you sure that this is a good idea, honey? You hardly know the girl. How do you know that you can trust her?”
    “I can trust this girl, Daddy. I promise. She’s not like the other girls I’ve known. She’s different.”
    “Okay,” Aaron said skeptically.
    “Let her go, Aaron. She’s a big girl,” Blaire responded airily. Kate could sense that her thoughts had already drifted somewhere else.
    Kate looked into her father’s eyes and nodded. He trusted her judgment, and she was telling him that she would be okay this time.
    “Go ahead,” he said at last.
    Aaron turned to Blaire and took her into his arms once more, spinning her around the kitchen tiles. Kate watched her parents continue their dance before heading upstairs to pack her things.
    As Kate packed, her mind was pulled back to her only other sleepover. Kate’s middle school friend, Ally, had been a small girl that was more concerned with popularity than friendships. Kate wasn’t as concerned with the concept yet; she was more concerned with making friends in general. When Ally invited Kate to a sleepover that she was having with the popular girls, Kate was ecstatic. She rushed home after school that Friday and packed her sleeping bag and stuffed dog. She packed her nail polish and makeup, along with her hair things, knowing that, according to the movies, makeovers were a tradition at sleepovers.
    When Kate arrived, the girls stole her clothes and tossed them in the front yard. They shoved her underwear and bra into the most popular boy’s mailbox with a love note from Kate. Ally had even ripped apart Kate’s stuffed dog in an effort to fit in with the girls that were being mean to Kate. The worst part was the picture that circulated around school the Monday afterwards. The boy had taken photos of the supposed gift that Kate left in the mailbox, and sent it to all of his friends. Life after that had been difficult, and Kate had been eager to move to another city; she thought that each new city would bring new, kinder people into her life, people that wouldn’t hurt others on purpose. She crossed her fingers, hoping that she wasn’t about to make the same mistake now.
    Kate pushed the memory from her mind and finished packing. That kind of stuff would not