Dead to the World by Susan Rogers Cooper Read Free Book Online

lip began to tremble. Quickly she got up, almost knocking over her chair, and made a fast exit to the restroom.
    ‘What’d I say?’ Megan asked, staring after her foster sister.
    ‘What didn’t you say?’ Bess said with some disgust.
    ‘You started it!’ Megan said.
    ‘Hi, Bess,’ came a voice from behind her shoulder.
    Bess whirled around, the smile already firmly planted on her lips. ‘Well, hey, Logan!’ she said. ‘I didn’t know you worked here!’
    ‘Yeah, I’ve been here like over a year. I’m assistant manager on Sunday nights,’ he said proudly.
    ‘Wow. That’s cool,’ Bess said.
    ‘Can I take y’all’s drink orders?’ he asked, a smile bringing out the dimples in his cheeks and the sparkle in his baby-blue eyes.
    ‘Hey, Logan,’ Megan said. ‘I’m here at the table too, you know.’
    He grinned. ‘Hey, Megan. What do you want to drink?’
    ‘Diet Coke.’
    ‘Bess?’
    ‘Real Coke, and a real Sprite for Alicia.’
    ‘Yeah, I saw she was with y’all,’ Logan said. ‘Is she OK? Someone said they heard a girl crying in the ladies’ room.’
    ‘Ah, shit,’ Megan said, tossing her napkin down on the table. ‘I’ll go. Bess, you know what we want. Just order.’
    ‘Be nice!’ Bess called to her sister’s retreating back.
    ‘When am I not nice?’ Megan shot back, but noticed her sister wasn’t paying a bit of attention to her. Megan sighed and headed to the restroom. Alicia was sitting at a stool by the vanity when Megan came in. ‘Sorry,’ Megan said. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
    Alicia nodded her head and dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex. ‘I know. It’s just … it’s just that …’ And she burst into tears.
    Megan moved to her and put an arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s OK, hon. Just let it out.’
    ‘He’s going back to UT in the fall,’ she said between sobs.
    ‘Graham?’
    ‘Yes! And he thinks we should date other people—’
    Megan sat down on the stool next to Alicia, her body stiff and her face turning red. ‘Has that asshole been pressuring you for sex?’
    ‘No!’ Alicia said. ‘Not really.’ Sob, sob. ‘Maybe a little.’
    ‘You mean all the damn time?’
    Alicia nodded her head.
    ‘I’m calling Mom!’ Megan announced and stood up.
    Alicia stood up too, grabbing Megan’s arm. ‘Oh, God, no, Megs! Don’t do that! I don’t want Mom knowing about this! It would be awful!’
    ‘He has no right—’
    ‘If we’re a couple I guess he does,’ Alicia said, falling back down on the stool. ‘If we were just a “normal” couple, this would surely be going on, right? So why is it weird that he wants to?’
    ‘You
are
a normal couple!’ Megan said. ‘You
are not
related! Try to remember that.’
    Alicia shook her head. ‘Not in the eyes of anyone who knows us. Not your parents or Grandma, but everybody at school thinks it’s weird. I’ve tried to keep it quiet, but—’
    ‘Yeah, I know – I told one of the twins and now it’s all over school.’
    ‘You didn’t mean to,’ Alicia said graciously. She sighed. ‘But the thing is I think it’s kinda weird, too. I mean I love him, but do I
love
him love him, or do I love him like a big brother?’
    ‘You don’t know?’
    ‘I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.’
    ‘Ooo, gross.’
    Alicia sighed again. ‘Tell me about it.’
    ‘So why are you so upset that he’s going back to Austin for school? And that he wants y’all to date other people? I think that sounds like a good thing under the circumstances. This way you can find out if you
love
him love him, or just little-sister love him.’
    Alicia swallowed a sob, then got up and went to the sink where she splashed cold water on her face and dabbed it dry with a paper towel.
    ‘You’re right, of course,’ she said. ‘But it’s just … sad,’ she said finally. ‘Really, really sad.’
    Megan sighed her own sigh and walked up to Alicia, putting her arms around her and hugging her. ‘Yeah, it is. It’s