The Dead Boyfriend by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

we love each other!” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
    Blade’s face went entirely blank. His eyes appeared to freeze over. “In your dreams, maybe.”
    And there I stood, my world collapsing in a sea of flashing lights and dancing couples and pounding music.
    Suddenly, Vanessa, the blonde-haired girl, moved toward me. She put a hand gently on my shoulder. “Are you okay? You’re trembling. Can I get you a drink or something?”
    Her dark blue eyes peered into mine. She was genuinely worried about me.
    I stared back at her, unable to answer. Finally, I spun away and took off. I ran back through the dance floor, pushing my way through the dancers, startled cries all around me.
    I pulled open the door and burst back into the cool darkness. The voices and music were a roar behind me. My eyes still pulsed from the crazy lights.
    The doorman turned from his podium as I ran past him. “Hey, you—stop! Come here!” he bellowed angrily.
    Again, I ignored him, my shoes slipping and sliding on the gravel as I turned toward my car. No sign of Deena Fear. I had a fleeting thought that she’d be there by the door waiting for me, waiting to grab me and insist that Blade had betrayed her, too.
    Which one of us is crazy?
    I knew the answer. I was the crazy one for caring too much. Everything I did in that club was crazy. So crazy that even the girl with Blade, a total stranger, was worried about me.
    But I didn’t care. Blade was so important to me. I trusted him. I believed in him. I loved him. And now … I didn’t care. I didn’t care. I didn’t care.
    He acted as if I was nothing. “She’s nobody.” That’s what he told that girl Vanessa. “She’s nobody.”
    And he was right. Now I was nobody. I thought I had something great, something wonderful to get through life. But now I was nobody.
    I climbed into the car. Slammed the door. Started it up and roared out of the parking lot, sending up a tidal wave of gravel behind me.
    Where was I going? I didn’t know. I swung the car out of the parking lot without looking. To my left, a small van screeched to a halt. Close call. I didn’t care.
    I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward. The pull of speed felt good to me. I spun around the curves of River Road, sliding from one lane to the other.
    I made the car squeal and scrape. The river flowed beside me. All I had to do was swing the wheel to the left, and I’d be over the side and into the water. The cold, fresh water. Was it a good night for a swim?
    No. I slid the wheel to the right and followed the dark road. Was that a squirrel I almost hit? No. Maybe a rabbit. Maybe a raccoon.
    I was making the big curve onto Parkview, doing at least eighty, when the oncoming headlights filled my windshield. I blinked in the blinding lights. I cursed them for having their brights on.
    And too late, I realized I was in the wrong lane. I was in the left lane. Too late. Too late to swing the car. Too late to avoid them. I heard the roar of a horn, like a siren, as the lights grew even brighter, washed over me, blinded me.
    I’m driving right into them. Can’t stop.

 
    13.
    Sudden darkness. The long wail of the car horn ringing in my ears, bleating like an enraged animal. The horn finally stopped as the other car swerved into the right lane and roared past me.
    Missed. The car missed. I forced myself to breathe. Silence now. The twin circles of bright white headlights lingered in my eyes.
    Breathe, Caitlyn. Breathe.
    Chill after chill ran down my back. A close call. I almost died. I didn’t really want to die. I was too angry to die.
    I jerked the wheel and pulled the car to the curb. I hit the brake too hard, and the car lurched forward before it stopped, throwing me against the wheel, then slamming me back.
    I cut off the engine. Then I sat there with my hands in my lap, staring out into