Troubled Waters (The Lake Trilogy, Book 2) by AnnaLisa Grant Read Free Book Online Page A

I…I can’t,” I stammer.
    “I thought you’d say that.” Claire squeezes my shoulder and kisses my hair. “She’s ready,” she calls. I show her my puzzled face and she just smiles. Before I know it, Gwen and Caroline are by my side, whisking me away.
    “Where are we going?” I ask as they shuffle me off.
    “You’ll see,” Caroline says.
    When we pull up to my old house I’m filled with sadness. I get out of the car and just stand there, frozen. “I don’t think I can do this, guys.”
    “Yes, you can,” Gwen says.
    “There are so many memories here. So much heartache.” I’m standing in the spot where I last saw Will. I remember how he held and kissed me before he left. I remember how full of hope I was when he drove away, so sure I was going to see him in just days…so sure he had the complication of us being together forever all worked out. This is also the same spot I said goodbye to my life here, to the ones I love. “Why are we here?” I ask, trying not to cry.
    “C’mon.” Caroline takes my hand and leads me through the side gate to the back of the house and down to the dock. Tears are welling up in my eyes and I’m really not sure if I can contain them.
    “Caroline…I can’t…”
    “He deserves better than the crap his father spewed out. We’re going to give Will the memorial he should have had.” Caroline squeezes my hand and I follow her down the flagstone path. Chris and Tyler are already on the dock. They’ve got the red blanket Will used on our prom night date spread out with a framed picture of Will in the center. It’s dusk and the candle next to the picture is glowing sweetly.
    “Oh my gosh.” I can’t hold back the tears any longer and they begin to flow uncontrollably. I fall to my knees and surrender to the pain. All I can feel is the warmth of four bodies surrounding me, loving me. Our sobs join together in a chorus of mourning for the loss of the most incredible person we’ve ever known. When we have cried all the tears we can, we gather ourselves and sit in a circle around Will’s picture.
    “I’ll start,” Chris says. “Will was the best guy I knew. He was honest, hardworking, and a damn good football player. I miss you, bro.” Short, sweet, and to the point. Anything else from Chris and it wouldn’t have been sincere.
    “Will always treated me with respect. Most guys looked at me and immediately thought I was just another dumb blonde. Not Will. He never assumed anything but the best about me. I never felt like I had to prove myself to him.” Gwen stops before she gives herself over to the emotions welling up in her. I reach over and take her hand and she pushes out a tight-lipped smile.
    “Will made life in this ridiculous bubble so much better. It was never about the number of commas and zeros in your bank account. He chose to be more than that. He cared about people. When we were little, I remember how genuinely kind he was. He never used anyone for his own selfish gain, and always thought of others before himself. My life is so much better for having known him.” Caroline’s speech is soft and sweet, like her. She knew better than the others about facing the Gregory Meyer test. I can’t imagine having been adopted at six and spending two years proving yourself to that man, but she was able to do it because Will was steadfast in his acceptance of her even then. “Tyler?”
    Tyler’s head is in his hands and there are soft sobs coming from him. After me, I suppose this has hit Tyler the hardest. He and Will were best friends. They’d known each other since they were babies. They grew up together and had been inseparable. Knowing Will had to go to Princeton Ty worked his butt off trying to get in, too. It was near devastating when he didn’t. He settled for Duke since it’d be easier for them to see each other any time Will came home to visit.
    “Will wasn’t just my friend…he was my brother. In this crappy, two-faced world we lived in, he