The Girl Death Left Behind by Lurlene McDaniel Read Free Book Online

said.
    “I don’t want to get behind.”
    “Catching the bus home?”
    “Not today. Aunt Camille insisted on picking us up on the first day. We’re meeting out front.”
    “Come on. I’ll walk with you.”
    She felt less intimidated walking alongsideJared in the crowded, noisy halls. Once outside, she looked around for Terri. “Guess she’s late.”
    “I’ll wait with you. Let’s sit.” A stone bench beneath a large tree offered shade from the hot afternoon sun. Cars and buses lined up in the loading zone. “Day one is over,” he said. “You’ll never have to go through it again.”
    “I’ll remind myself of that tomorrow when I’m still lost wandering the halls.”
    Just then a motorcycle roared around a waiting bus and screeched to a stop almost in front of the bench. A guy dressed in torn jeans and a black T-shirt balanced the sleek cycle and gunned the big engine. The girl with orange hair and an attitude flopped her duffel bag onto the seat, put on a helmet, and swung onto the bike behind the driver. He glanced over his shoulder once before revving the engine and speeding off. “Who’s
she
?” Beth asked.
    “Sloane Alonso.”
    “You know her?”
    “Everybody knows Sloane.”
    Beth made a face. “She’s scary.”
    “She’s all right.”
    “You
like
her?”
    “I told you, I like everybody.”
    “Really? She’s so different from the other kids I’ve met.”
    “She’s got problems.”
    “Such as?”
    “Rotten home life. The worst. When things get really bad, she’s been known to bring a sleeping bag and crash here at the school.”
    “You’re joking.” But Beth could tell by his expression that he wasn’t. “Where does she sleep?”
    “Girls’ bathrooms, janitors’ closets, anyplace she can sneak into without getting caught.”
    “And nobody knows? Not the principal, or a teacher?”
    “Nobody knows and everybody knows, if you get my meaning. There are a lot of rumors. If she gets caught, she’ll be suspended.”
    “Why doesn’t she just let somebody in authority know about her rotten home life?”
    “ ’Cause she’d probably get sent to some foster home.”
    “Seems like that would be better than living the way she does.”
    “She doesn’t think so. Some of us help her out. We bring her food. Keep our mouths shut.”
    Beth held her breath. Was he asking her not to tell anyone? “It’s none of my business.”
    Jared grinned amiably. “I figured you for the type to keep a secret. Not like your cousin.”
    “What did Terri do to Sloane?”
    “Ratted on her once. Got her into trouble. Terri didn’t have to, but she did. It really bummed a lot of us out.”
    “Is that why kids don’t like Terri?”
    Jared shrugged. “There are lots of things about Terri that put kids off. She carries around this ‘I’m better than you’ attitude. I don’t mean to slam her. I know she’s your cousin and all.”
    “No problem.” Beth knew exactly what Jared meant. In the weeks she’d lived with Terri, Beth had felt no special affection for her cousin. Terri had an abrasive quality—not like Sloane’s, but like a thornbush that repelled closeness. “Do
you
feed Sloane?”
    “Sure. It’s the least I can do for her.”
    “Is that guy on the motorcycle her boyfriend?”
    “I guess. He’s new from the one she had last school year. She always dates older guys. Mostly because they can drive.” He draped his elbows over the back of the bench. “Which is my main goal. I can’t wait until I can drive unrestricted.”
    Her fifteenth birthday was in March, so she had a long time before she’d be sixteen and driving. A long time before she could return home on her own. “One day you’ll drive this baby to the mall without me,” her father had joked the day he’d brought the van home from the car lot. And she’d rolled her eyes and groaned, “No way! It’s ugly. If my friends see me in this, I’ll die!” Except that she hadn’t died. Her family had.
    “Excuse