Overboard by Sandra Madera Read Free Book Online Page B

words. Something resonated within her.
Something clicked in her head, and her mind became inundated with
images. The dark cloud that separated her from her memories had
lifted slightly, and she saw beyond the veil.
    Reaching the upper deck, Brenna bent over the railing
and began to vomit. Her mind was moving at a dizzying pace, and she
felt sick as a vision appeared before her eyes.
     
    Marissa ushered her into her suite and lead her into
the sitting area. “So, I wanted to talk to you, because I’ve been
holding back something, and I can’t hold it in anymore. I just have
to get this off my chest.”
    “I’m tired, Marissa. I want to go to bed so go ahead
and spill it,” Brenna told her, yawning.
    “Brenna, I need to hear the truth from your lips,”
Marissa told her, appearing concerned. “No more lies.”
    “What are you talking about?” she asked, bewildered
by her friend’s words.
    “Did you kill her?” Marissa asked bluntly, tears
rimming her eyes.
    Brenna stood up abruptly. “What are you accusing me
of?”
    “I know the truth... It wasn’t hard to put things
together,” Marissa said, standing and crossing her arms. “How could
you do it? She was our best friend...”
    “I didn’t do anything!” Brenna shouted at her,
feeling her insides turning.
    “What was Morgan doing on that rowboat? Was she
meeting you? Did you find out about her and Dylan?”
    Brenna covered her ears in an attempt to block out
Marissa’s questions. “Stop!”
    Marissa angrily grasped her arms and shook her. “Tell
me! I need to hear it!”
    “Stop!”
    “How did you do it?”
    Trying to quiet her, Brenna pushed her away with all
of her force.
    Marissa fell over, hitting her head on the corner of
the coffee table. Marissa screamed. When she hit the ground, the
air was pushed out of her lungs and she was silent. Within seconds,
she sat up, wiping her head and exposing the inch-long gash on her
forehead. She showed Brenna the blood on her hands. “I’m bleeding!”
she screamed, glaring at her. “You did that on purpose!”
    “No,” Brenna said, shaking her head. “No, it was an
accident!”
    “Is that how you killed her?” Marissa asked furiously
as she collected herself from the floor. “You made her hit her head
on the boat.”
    “No!” Brenna said, crying. She collapsed on the couch
and began to rock herself. She was about to lose control. She could
feel the rage welling within her. How could Marissa do this to her?
How could she corner her like this?
    “Things just didn’t make sense,” Marissa said as if
thinking aloud, holding her head in an effort to stop the blood
from flowing out. “I guess I always suspected, but Hallie’s
suspicions confirmed it for me. I mean what was Morgan doing out
there? It was raining... She knew better than to be on a rowboat in
the rain. She wouldn’t have stood up on a rowboat so how could she
have slipped and hit her head on the side... Then there was the
missing oar... They dragged the lake and still couldn’t find it.
You took it with you, didn’t you?”
    “Shut up,” Brenna warned her, grinding her teeth
together.
    “I knew you had a dark side... No one could be that
perfect all the time,” she said with a giggle. “Good little Brenna
murdered her best friend... For what? A boy?”
    “Shut your mouth, Marissa,” Brenna told her, shaking
uncontrollably.
    As blood seeped down her cheek, Marissa whispered to
herself, “Wait until everyone hears about this... I wouldn’t have
believed it if I didn’t put it together myself.”
    Suddenly, Brenna felt as if she was outside of
herself. She stood at the corner of the room, watching the scene in
horror.
    She saw her head snap up, and her expression changed
from fear to one of menace. She grimaced, baring her teeth in a
manic expression.
    As Marissa continued to talk to herself, she saw
herself stand up and grab an abstract bronze sculpture that was
perched on a side table. She crept up behind her as she was