With Malice by Eileen Cook Read Free Book Online Page A

they were the nicest people in our class. They deserved to have this epic time.
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    The Record Eagle,
“School Trip Ends in Tragedy,” dated 3 May
    Two local girls, Jill Charron and Simone McIvory, were involved in an automobile accident in Montepulciano, Italy. The girls were on a school trip through the Adventures Abroad Program designed to expose promising high school students to new cultures. Ms. McIvory was declared dead at the scene. Ms. Charron sustained significant injuries and was flown from Italy to a local hospital for further care. Italian police have reported the cause of the accident is unknown.
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    Comments:
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    LISSAMUM: Prayers for the family
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    GYMRATT: Why would anyone let their kids go all the way to Europe without them? Shame on the family.
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    COOPERE: How can you blame the family? The accident could have happened anywhere—it’s a tragedy.
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    BILLY42: I went to school with them and they were a bunch of stuck up bitches. Save your tears for someone who matters.
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    From the Eulogy for Simone McIvory, 5 May
    Tara Ingells, Speaker
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    I know everyone here today is really sad, but I’m choosing to focus on all the people in heaven who must be really happy. It was impossible not to be happy when Simone was around. We could just be sitting at the beach, and Simone would find a way to make it fun. She even made things like remedial math halfway decent. (Laughter.)
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    It’s no wonder people wanted to be around Simone. She was nice to everyone. She had a way of making you feel special. She wouldn’t want us to be sad now.
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    I remember when I first met Simone in cheer. We were learning a new routine, and I was, like, nervous to go out on the field and do it in front of the whole school. Simone told me to put a smile on my face and just do it. She didn’t waste time second-guessing things or being afraid. She just did it. And that’s what she would want for us to do to. Live fearless.

Chapter Six
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    I said a silent prayer I was seeing double.
    â€œWhy is there an extra bed?” I asked.
    â€œThat’s your roommate’s side. Her name is Anna.”
    Inside my head, I said,
Oh, hell, no,
but even with a head injury, I knew that wasn’t the right way to respond. “Is there a way for me to have my own room?” I asked instead. I don’t have any siblings. I don’t share well. “Please,” I added, using my adult suck-up voice. The nurse was already unpacking my things and putting them in a small closet next to the bed by the door. The room looked like it belonged in a hospital. Worn brown linoleum that was faded from years of being washed with harsh cleaners, hospital bed complete with rail and plastic mattress coating, and industrial-grade chairs parked at the side for a visitor. The other bed was surrounded by a hoarder’s amount of crap—empty water bottles, magazines, a couple of paperbacks, a sweatshirt, and a tangled set of earphones. For all I knew, there was a flattened mummified cat buried at the bottom.
    I didn’t know how I would cope with someone in the room. I was having trouble sleeping. This was an understatement. I would be wide awake in the middle of the night and then, in the afternoon, suddenly be taken out by a wave of exhaustion. I’d fallen asleep in the middle of dinner last night. Drooled all over the front of my PJs. This was one of many reasons I wasn’t interested in sharing with a roomie. That and the fact I was having nightmares. Nothing I could remember in the morning, but I’d wake with the sense that a memory of Italy had just dodged out of sight. That they were sneaking up on me.
    â€œMost people love having a roommate. We’ll get you settled today, and you’ll start your program tomorrow.” The nurse picked up a few things around the other bed, tucking them away, and tossed out an empty chip bag.
    My dad’s lips