By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) by Jennifer Hendren Read Free Book Online Page A

to stop—to pull the girls from
captivity. But I did nothing. Frozen in place, I watched in
silence, unable to come to their aid, yet unable to leave or turn
away.
    For a brief moment, Melanie's eyes locked
with mine. I saw an accusation in their depths and my face burned
with guilt at my inability to stand up to my friends.
    Next thing I knew, my mom rushed in with her
fellow chaperones to break things up. With comforting arms around
their shoulders, she led the two girls off the floor. I'd done
nothing, and my shame was immense.
    David and I hadn't slept together that night.
Luckily, he'd gotten so drunk he'd passed out before he could talk
me out of my lovely green dress.
    With him lying half out of the bathroom in
our hotel room, I'd silently slipped out of the door, shoes in
hand, and called Ty to come pick me up. He hadn't said a single
word when he arrived, only tucked me in beside him and drove home
in silence.
     
    o0o
     
    The door swung open behind me, and I snapped
out of my memories. I'd moved in front of the mirror, and in the
reflection, Jenna approached, eyes narrowed.
    "What the hell are you doing, Mac?"
    I turned on the water and quickly lathered my
hands. "I'd think that'd be pretty obvious given the room and
all."
    She clamped down on my arm and forced me to
face her. "What was that little scene in the cafeteria all about?
You embarrassed the hell out of yourself—and us, your friends."
    Shrugging out of her grip, I reached for some
paper towels. "I could ask the same of you. Why in the world would
you pick on her that way?"
    "That's beside the point. She's nothing to
us. Why would you defend her?"
    I shook my head in disbelief. "What's wrong
with you? Her best friend was just killed and you used that to
tease her. God, you disgust me."
    I brushed past her and grabbed my things.
Before I could leave, her voice stopped me.
    "Watch yourself, Mac. You're nothing at this
high school without your friends."
    I focused on the door before me as the
vehemence beneath her words sank in. She was right, crossing my
group would equate to social suicide. Taking a deep breath, I
straightened my spine and pushed out the door, determined that I
didn't give a damn.

Chapter 5
     
     
    I kept my head down the rest of the day.
Several members of my group watched me from time to time, but I
avoided them as I moved between classes, praying for the day to
come to an end. When at last the final bell rang, I made my way to
my mother's classroom.
    "Mind if I ride home with you today?"
    "What, no David?" She was rightfully
confused. The few times I didn't ride home with him, I usually went
with Ty. I had only glimpsed Ty a couple of times throughout the
day. Every time I got close to him, he had abruptly disappeared
into the crowd.
    "I just thought I'd ride with you today." I
kept my voice carefully nonchalant.
    She smiled and squeezed my arm. "Give me just
a few minutes. I need to grab some things from the office."
    I had no difficulty pinpointing her mood.
Once we were buckled into her SUV, she chattered on incessantly, a
little too happy and upbeat to be believable.
    "Mom, what really happened to Kim?" I cut
in.
    She sighed deeply, her eyes steady on the
road. "I knew you were going to ask."
    "Well?"
    She didn't immediately answer. I began to
think she wouldn't.
    "It was an animal attack. They found tracks
all around her body. And what with..." She paused. "With the
condition of her body, they think it must've been a rather large
animal that did it."
    "It's true then."
    She grimaced. "I'm afraid so."
    "But the police said we were safe—how could
they know that? It could be anywhere!" Like in a darkened school
corridor. I shivered.
    She placed a calming hand on my knee. "Honey,
it's fine. They tracked it and...well...it's over."
    "Oh." I suddenly felt very stupid for my
thoughts about Caleb. He was just a punk who probably got off on
scaring me.
    "Are you sure?" For whatever reason, tension
still crawled across my shoulders.
    We