Private 06 - Legacy by Kate Brian Read Free Book Online

sense of relief. Maybe this was all I needed. Closure, or whatever they call it. Maybe I really would be able to move on.

    "I can't believe Taylor and Kiran didn't show," Portia sniffed to her roommate, Shelby Wordsworth, as they walked by us. "They were initiated with us. I mean, how rude."
    "Please. No one's heard from Miss Genius since last fall, and Kiran puts the 'self in 'selfish,'" Shelby sniffed. "I am not at all surprised." My face grew hot at her scathing words. Shelby was a senior, gorgeous in an understated, sophisticated way with her thick, dark blond hair, bright blue eyes, and refined clothing choices. But she had barely ever spoken two words to me. She hadn't been that close with my friends last year--with Noelle,
    Ariana, Kiran, and Taylor--so I felt as if she had no right to criticize them now. Even though technically she had known them longer than I had.

    Still, it wasn't the time to criticize her. Instead, I glanced around, wondering if any of the former Billings Girls had shown up but were just keeping a low profile. I had thought of them that morning, considered that they might attend the service--but I had been so distracted during the eulogy and by Mrs. Kane's "no regrets" directive that I had forgotten all about them.
    "So... you okay?" Josh asked me as we followed the rest of the Easton students down the hill. His dark blond curls had been tamed with gel, and in his pressed blue suit and dark tie, he'd never looked more perfect. "Yeah, actually. I think I'll be all right." I bit my lip, hesitating. "So, are we going to talk about it? You know, the fight?"

    Josh tipped his head back, his hands in his pockets. When he looked at me again, his expression was pragmatic. "I'm thinking no." Relieved, I smiled. The last thing I needed was more drama. "No?" "I say we chalk it up to emotions--temporary insanity--and move on," he suggested. "You think?" "I am totally down with that plan," I replied. Temporary insanity. Perhaps that could double as my excuse for that e-mail to Dash. Yes. Temporary insanity worked. I liked that. I took a deep breath of the crisp sea air, feeling infinitely better as I started walking again. "God, I can't wait to get back and sleep. I just want to chill, you know? I just want this to be over so we can--" And then I saw her. Standing right there in the middle of the crowd. Cheyenne was not dead. She was there. And she was staring right at me. Her blunt-cut blond hair. Her blue eyes. Her perfect skin. Her big diamond earrings. Definitely her.

    "Josh!" I gasped, gripping his hand. "What? What's the matter?" "Cheyenne," I told him, breathless. A crowd of men in dark suits moved in between myself and Cheyenne, and when they moved away again, she was gone. I scanned the crowd like a crazy person, but she had disappeared. Was she a figment of my imagination? "Cheyenne what?" Josh asked.
    "Reed, take a breath."I did as I was told, and my brain cleared a bit. A figment of my imagination. Of course she had been. Cheyenne was dead. Her parents had just sent her ashes into the wind.
    I was just tired. Just imagining things. "What is it?" Josh asked again as I clutched his hand.

    "Nothing. I just..." I glanced up at him and forced a strained laugh. "You're gonna think I'm crazy. I seriously just thought I saw Cheyenne." Josh blinked. "Oh. Okay, I could see why that would freak you out," he said with an understanding smile, briefly cupping my cheek. "You probably just saw one of her cousins or something. Someone who looks like her." I looked into his eyes and my panic dissipated. A cousin. Right. Someone who looked like her. Of course. I wasn't crazy. I'd merely spotted a look-alike. What would I do without him? "Okay?" he asked, loosening his grip a bit. I nodded. "Okay. "You're sleeping in the car on the way home," he told me, slipping his arm around my waist as we started walking again. "Like Gage and Trey are gonna let me sleep," I said with a forced laugh.
    "I'll kick them