The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) by AnnaLisa Grant Read Free Book Online

pleased with his corny joke. “I gotta get back, but…we should hang out this summer. I’ll introduce you to my friends.”
    “That sounds great,” I lie. The idea of spending time with Will and his prep school socialites makes my stomach churn. I know I don’t fit in, and finding Will as attractive and charming as I do is a recipe for one embarrassing moment after another. I’m sure he’s just being polite in the moment in front of Luke, so I agree happily, knowing I won’t have to worry about it.
    “Great. I’ll see you later then,” he says walking away. After he’s taken several long strides around people and over blankets he turns around and calls to me. “Hey, Layla!” I lift my chin to acknowledge him. “I changed my mind. You owe me a Coke!” He smiles as I chuckle nervously and turns to make his way back to his family and friends.
    “What was that about?” Claire asks.
    “Oh, nothing…just the worst first impression in the history of man.” I say while I watch- no, stare- as Will walks back to his camp. As I begin to talk myself out of this strange nervousness fluttering inside me I find myself now on the receiving end of a glare. Will’s father, Gregory Meyer is staring at me. His face is hard and expressionless. His silver-gray hair reveals years of stress from high-stakes plea-bargaining. The lines on his long face are a road map of the secrets he holds under attorney-client privilege. It’s clear that this man does not play games. I meet his gaze and respond with a forced smile, but there’s something about him that has my gut twisted into knots. He echoes my feigned smiled with one of his own and turns away. At least if I ever have to meet him in person I’ll have already had this creepy experience and won’t turn our first face-to-face meeting into a career crushing incident for Luke or Claire.
    The concert and Green festivities were over by nine, but we didn’t get home until close to ten. The traffic getting out of there was insane. It was a fun night, though. Good music and a chance to get to know Luke and Claire a little better. I’m glad I went despite my tragic first encounter with Will Meyer. I want to , but I can’t stop thinking about him. He is, by far, the most charismatic boy I’ve ever met. He’s eloquent and polite and funny. I still can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about him. Still, I’m a realist. I’m not his type, so there will be no pining. I won’t see him again until school starts anyway, so that’s that. I have all summer to pretend I never met Will Meyer.

Chapter 4
 
    I sleep much better in the days that follow. No more nightmares, for now. I’m getting comfortable here faster than I thought I would. Each day I feel a little less like a guest. Luke and Claire correct me every time I ask permission to do something they’ve already given me carte blanche to do, like use the computer or watch TV in the loft. They are constantly reminding me that this is my home now, and little by little it’s beginning to sink in.
    Although Claire has offered to take me anywhere I’d like, there’s nowhere I really want to go. I’m not quite ready to go exploring yet , so I spend most of my time reading. Well, I try to spend my time reading. Every time I sit in this gigantic chair in front of the windows in the loft, I get lost in the view and my mind wanders. I think a lot about mom and dad and wonder what life would be like if they were still alive. I think about the last Presidential election and am sure they would have been more involved in that one than any other in their lives, and they would both still be teaching. That was their biggest passion. I think about Gramps and realize if he were still alive I would be doing pretty much the same thing that I am now: sitting and reading a great book…in between chores and tending to him, of course.
    Next to homework and housework, reading is the only thing I ever did on a regular basis. I used