Tragedy Girl by Christine Hurley Deriso Read Free Book Online Page B

“Stop it,” I whisper. “It was just a terrible accident.”
    He swallows hard, then looks at me, his eyes still misty. “That’s what I tell Jamie. He acts like he’s mad at me, but I think he’s really mad at himself. He feels guilty too.”
    I shake my head briskly. “There’s no place for anger or guilt in all of this. Blake, listen to me: I felt guilty after my parents died. What if I’d made dinner that night so they wouldn’t have gone out? What if I’d gone with them? They asked me to. And, you know, I could have made them wait an extra five minutes while I got ready, or wait while I ate dessert—any single variable could have changed everything. A single instant could have changed everything, and I’d still have my parents.”
    He squeezes my hand and touches my cheek with his index finger.
    “I think we need to let go of all the what-ifs,” I say. “I think it’s time to cut ourselves some slack.”
    Blake gazes into my eyes. “You’re amazing,” he tells me, and a deep sense of calm washes over me.
    Maybe this is real. Maybe it’s right.

    “Why do you sound so giddy?”
    I huff playfully. “Quit peering into my soul, Sawbones. It’s annoying.”
    “Oh my god. It’s that guy, isn’t it?”
    Okay, I haven’t so much as mentioned Blake, even though he just dropped me off and I still have the warm, salty taste of his kisses on my lips.
    “Did you see him tonight?”  Sawyer asks.
    I roll my eyes. “So what if I did?”
    “Just seems like things are moving kinda … fast. You said this year was going to be all about school and getting positioned for good scholarships. Since when did your college goals take a back seat to some guy?”
    I huff. “You make it sound like some childish, shallow relationship,” I say, then curse myself for uttering the word “relationship.” “It’s not like that at all. Blake and I have both been through a lot. We understand each other.”
    “Hmmmm,” Sawyer says.
    “But just to put your mind at ease,” I say, “it’s not like we’re planning to elope. That whole college scenario? I’ve still got that penciled in.”
    I expect him to crack wise, but instead he says, “I really hope so, E. I don’t want you getting off track.”
    I toss my head back as my jaw gapes. “Oh my gosh, I barely know him!”
    “Yet you mentioned something about a relationship,” Sawyer says, and I groan aloud.
    “Please trust me,” I tell him solemnly, irritated and yet a little touched as well.
    “I trust you implicitly, E,” he says. “Guys, on the other hand—”
    “Hey, Sawbones, somebody’s buzzing in. Catch you later?”
    “Catch you later,” he says.
    I press a button on my phone. “Hello?”
    “Anne?”
    “Yeah?”
    “It’s Melanie.”
    I sit up straighter. Why does she sound so strange? “Is everything okay, Mel?” I ask, pressing a finger against my lip.
    “Something’s weird,” she says, her voice a chilling monotone.
    “What? Did something happen with Jamie?”
    “No,” she says. “At least I don’t think so. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
    I pitch slightly forward on my bed. “What?”
    Melanie takes a deep breath. “When Blake and Jamie dropped me off tonight, I noticed the flag was up on my mailbox. I thought that was odd—the flag up on a Saturday night? So I looked inside.”
    I swallow. “Yeah?”
    “There was an anonymous note in there,” Melanie says.
    I clutch the phone tighter. “What did it say?”
    “It says: Rethink your love life. Please. Your life may depend on it .”
    “ What? ”
    “And the last sentence is underlined, Anne: Your life may depend on it .”

Eight
    “Okay, let’s just think this through.”
    Melanie paces in her bedroom, running her hand through her hair.
    “It’s got to be Natalie,” I say, sitting cross-legged on her carpet as crepe myrtle branches rustle outside her bedroom window.
    “But Natalie’s hung up on Blake , not Jamie,” Melanie says, repeating the same