Monster by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page B

of his favourite root beer. Before she could respond he let go of her and strode into the house to plop down on the living -room couch. “It's nice to be home,” he said.
    H e r grandfather's place was a two-storey cedar fra m e built on an open plan, with exposed beams in the v aulted c e i ling. The wood was heavil y lacquered pine and polished ce dar . A huge basement ran the l ength of the house. The living-room's sliding glass windows opened out on to Point Lake, which was calm on this warm, sunny day. Kevin sat and glanced at the water, on the far side of which stood Point High, only a year old. It had been b uilt directl y on the shore; half the classrooms had a great vi ew which made bored minds wander. Angela went over and sat on the couch beside Kevin.
    “Hey, girl,” Kevin said, not meaning Angela. Plastic, her grandpa's collie, came bouncing into the room and sho ved her head on to Kevin's lap. Angela loved the dog – she was beautiful – but Plastic had reservations about An gela. Perhaps she resented having another female in the ho use. But with Kevin, Plastic couldn't show enough affecti on. She hungrily rose and licked his face. Angela let it go on for a moment until Kevin began to lick her b ack . She motioned for Plastic to return to he r favourite sunn ing spot , a wooden balcony that jutted out from both her grandfather ’ s upstairs bedroom and her own, ten feet directly over the water. Plastic could lie on the bal cony for hours, staring at the water. One would have thought she was a cat searching for fish. Yet the dog never dived in .
    “ Go, girl, ” Angela said. “Go see the water.”
    Plastic looked at her with her who-the-hell-do-you- think- you-are - g ivin g-me- o rders expression. But she turned and went up the stairs, nudged the slider open, and went out to sun herself.
    “ Smart dog ,” Kevin remarked.
    “Yeah,” Angela agreed. “ She likes you more than m e.”
    “ Most young females in hea t do.”
    “Where have you been?” she asked.
    “ I've been here and I've been there. And I've bee n in between. ” He paused. “Did you go to the funerals?”
    “ Yes. I just go t back. How come you didn't go?”
    “I wasn't invited to the party.”
    “Be thankful for small favours.”
    “How were they?” he asked.
    “ The funerals? Awful. I don't know why they bury people. I don't want to be buried.”
    “Do you want to be cremated?” Kevin asked.
    “ I want to be shot into space and dropped into the sun. Really, where have you been? How come you didn't call back this weekend? I called you twice .”
    “ Did you leave a message? ” he asked.
    “Two.”
    “ Can I use the excuse that my machine wasn't working?” he asked.
    “I f you really need to. But I needed you this weekend.”
    Kevin appeared genuinely concerned. He was ordinarily protective of her. He reached over and put his hand on her knee. “ I'm sorry . I went to a computer convention in Chicago. I didn't even know about the shootings until I got back late last nigh t.”
    “ How come you didn't tell me you were going to this c onvention?”
    “ Because I didn't get invited to the party.”
    “You said that already.”
    “Then it must be doubly true,” he said.
    Now she was concerned. “ D id it upset you that I went to t he party without asking you? You understand it wasn't my p arty. I couldn't invite people.”
    Kevin nodded. “ It was Jim Kline's, I know. And he almost got killed at it. The w ord is that you saved his life.”
    “ That's an exagge ration. The cops saved his life.”
    “ I heard you took a bullet that was meant for him.”
    Angela laughed. “ These stories. Does it look like I took a bullet meant for anybody?”
    He studied her for a minute. “ You look terrible, Angie, ” he said quietl y.
    Angela sniffed and l owered her eyes, playing with her fingers, an old habit of hers whenever she was upset. “Of co urse I look terrible, I feel terrible. Two people died, and M ary's in