The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting Read Free Book Online Page B

blankets, water bottles and pop cans, bags of chips, and kids of all shapes and sizes basking in the warmth of the summer heat as they soaked up the last of the season’s sun.
    The house belonged to the grandmother of Gabrielle Myers, a friend of theirs from school. Violet didn’t even recognize all of the kids who were there that day, and she doubted that they all knew Gabrielle or her grandmother, but instead were tagging along with friends, or friends of friends, who had invited them to come.
    Violet had carefully chosen some long-hanging, loose-fitting basketball shorts to wear over her swimsuit, in hopes of keeping her injuries at least partially hidden. But it didn’t take long before one…and then two…and then at least twenty of her friends had noticed her bandages peeking out from beneath the swishing fabric, and she was forced to recount her morning accident.
    Jay loved hearing her tell the story, and every time he heard her talking about it, he would come over so that he could interject, and of course embellish, his role in the events. In his version, he was her champion, practically carrying her from the woods and performing near-miraculous medical feats to save her legs from complete amputation. Violet, and annoyingly every other girl within earshot, couldn’t help but giggle while he jokingly sang his own praises.
    Violet happened to walk up just in time to hear Jay recounting his version once more to a group of eager admirers.
    â€œHero? I wouldn’t say hero… ” he quipped.
    Violet rolled her eyes, turning to Grady Spencer, a friend of theirs from school. “Can you believe him?”
    Grady gave her a concerned look. “Seriously, are you okay, Violet? It sounds like it was pretty bad.”
    Violet was embarrassed that Jay’s exaggerations were actually dredging up real sympathy from others. “It’s fine,” she assured him, and when Grady didn’t look convinced, she added, “Really, I just tripped.”
    She reached out and shoved Jay. “Will you knock it off, hero ? You’re making an ass out of yourself.”
    Jay laughed and followed her to a spot away from the crowdon the lawn. But even as they began to settle in, several of the girls who had already spread out their towels and blankets in other places casually began to migrate in their direction. She found that even she was getting more attention than usual from his crowd of admirers, and she felt conspicuously like she was being used in their attempts to get closer to him.
    But Jay’s fans were easy enough to ignore, especially since several of her real friends were already there. Violet left Jay among his groupies and headed toward where Chelsea and some of her other friends from school were sunning themselves.
    Chelsea scooted over when she saw Violet coming, making room for her on the big, colorful beach towel. “What’s up? I heard you practically broke your legs this morning.”
    Violet sat down next to her friend, who looked like perfection personified in her deep purple bikini, her body well toned from sports. “Ha-ha,” Violet mumbled, curling her lip in a mock sneer. “It was nothing.” She flashed the tops of her gauze-covered knees from beneath the hem of her shorts. “See? Just a couple of scrapes.”
    â€œWell, to hear Lissie and Valerie tell it, Jay practically saved your life.” The way Chelsea said the other girls’ names reminded Violet that Chelsea didn’t care much for the cheerleader crowd. In fact, she didn’t try very hard at all to hide the fact that she thought they were vapid and useless.
    Violet knew she liked Chelsea for a reason other than her friend’s obvious athletic talents.
    â€œNah, it was just me being clumsy as usual,” Violet admitted, smiling.
    â€œYeah, well, good thing Jay was there to catch you.” Chelsealeaned back on her elbows and looked out at the lake. “You