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

yell at me again, go away,” Beth said.
    “My friends have been calling, asking about you and Jared,” Terri blurted out. “Everybody saw the two of you sitting together. They know I like him and they want to know what’s going on.”
    “There is no ‘me and Jared.’ Where do people get such crazy ideas?”
    “Because you were seen together. It made a statement.”
    Beth shook her head. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. If I’d been sitting there with Santa Claus would everybody have thought I had something going on with him?”
    The idea must have struck Terri as funny, because she snickered.
    Beth added, “For the record, I think Jared spoke to me because he knows what it feels like to be the new kid in school. He was just being nice.”
    Terri looked glum. “He’s nice, all right. But nothing I do makes him notice me.”
    Beth didn’t know what to say. She could hardly tell Terri what Jared really thoughtabout her. “I also ran into some girl named Sloane, and Jared was telling me about her,” Beth remarked, changing the subject.
    Terri’s eyes widened. “Stay clear of her. She’s bad news. Nothing but trouble with a capital
T
.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Just look at her. She dresses like a refugee from a punk rock band, not to mention her tattoo. She’s supposed to keep her arm covered during school hours, but she doesn’t. Plus she’s dumb.”
    “Dumb?”
    “You know, she’s in the retard class. If you care about your reputation, not to mention your
life
, stay clear of Sloane.”
    “But Jared was telling me that her home life is the pits and that she hides in the bathrooms to keep from going home at night. That she sleeps in closets and bathroom stalls. Is it true?”
    Terri looked unmoved by Sloane’s plight. “She doesn’t do it all that often. Some of the kids think it’s cool, some think it’s creepy. But nobody tells on her. I made a mistake of telling a teacher she was smoking in thebathroom way back in seventh grade, and she’s never gotten over it. Believe me, I stay out of her way. You should too.”
    “Isn’t there anyone who could help her?”
    “She doesn’t want help. And who’s going to take a chance and cross her? Not me.” Terri’s eyes narrowed. “And you shouldn’t either, if that’s what you’re thinking. Don’t go sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, Beth.”
    With that warning, Terri left the room.
    Beth awoke in the night hungry. Her leftover Chinese food was in the refrigerator, so she quietly went into the kitchen, retrieved it, and began to eat it cold from the carton at the breakfast bar. The glow from the plug-in night-lights cast shadows, and the moon shone through the bay window, spilling a silvery glow on the smooth floor. Silence. All around her, silence.
    The kitchen was spacious, with polished white cabinets and tidy countertops. No dish towels dropped haphazardly. Her mother’s kitchen counters had held a set of chipped ceramic canisters and, beside the stove, a glass jar filled with cooking utensils.There were always boxes that had never made it back to the pantry, and plastic cups and mismatched mugs of half-drunk coffee. Her father always forgot where he put down his cup and poured himself another.
    Camille’s refrigerator was sleek and gleaming, free of fingerprints and smudges. In Beth’s house, the refrigerator had been covered with sticky-notes, photographs, and a collection of Doug’s magnetic alphabet letters. Her family sometimes spelled out messages or left nutty remarks.
The red dog forgot his lunch
. And
PTA meet bring bi$cuits—
the dollar sign used because there was only one
s
.
    Until now, she’d never noticed how neat and clean Camille kept her kitchen. Tidy, orderly. And lifeless. Beth shivered. Her hunger disappeared. She walked swiftly to the garbage can and dumped the carton of food. She carefully stepped around the puddle of cold moonlight and hurried back up to her