Read Online Canary by Rachele Alpine - Free Book Online Page B

Plastic cups cracked under my feet, and the cuffs of my jeans were quickly soaked from the wet grass blades, the cold ends like slippery fingers grazing my feet. Music pulsed out of a second-floor window, so loud the song was distorted and hard to decipher. Cigarette butts sparked in the backyard like fireflies, flashes of light, glowing for a second with each intake of breath and then disappearing in a haze.
    Jenna stood with a group, flinging her arms wildly as she talked. She introduced me to some kids I’d seen around school, an unusually tall boy and two girls who spoke alike, their sentences coming out rushed and ending with giggles.
    Ali fell into conversation with them about someone who would be showing up at the party later. I tried to follow, but it was hard to pay attention when the music was so loud and people pushed past me. I sipped the beer, trying to act busy, bringing the can up and down so I wasn’t just standing there silent.
    My cell phone vibrated in my purse, and I dug it out. There was a message from Brett: U R NOT DANCING ON TABLES OR SMOKING OUT OF STRANGE-SHAPED TUBES, R U?
    I laughed softly and texted him back: THIS PARTY IS CRAZY! IM ABOUT TO BONG BEER NUMBER 10!
    The phone vibrated again. NOT FUNNY.
    IM FINE. FIND SOMETHING 2 DO BESIDES STALKING UR LIL SIS.
    I thought I’d be annoyed at Brett for checking up on me, but it was kind of nice to know someone had my back.
    I put my phone in my purse and focused on the group. More people had joined, and someone handed me another beer. I drank it slowly, feeling a bit light-headed. I tried to get Ali’s attention to let her know I was going to find the bathroom, but she was in the middle of telling a story about her brother and some family vacation they’d taken a few years ago. I slipped away, hoping she’d be in the same spot when I returned.
    The path to the house was almost impossible to walk through. Two or three people stood on each stair leading to the deck, and with my unsteady feet, I didn’t think it was a good idea to try to climb up them. Instead, I elbowed my way to the side of the house, where concrete blocks formed a walkway. I pushed through the bushes and low-hanging branches, following a sort of tunnel, feeling the branches grab the sides of my shirt. I broke free and stumbled onto the driveway, where I ran into the back of a guy leaning against the garage.
    â€œWhoa, sorry.” I nearly tripped over my own feet. “You have to fight to get anywhere at this party. There sure are a lot of people here,” I said more to myself than to him.
    The guy faced me, and his gaze fixed on mine. “Where else would we be tonight?”
    My face heated up when I realized who it was.
    Jack Blane.
    â€œSo we meet again,” he said, drawing the words out.
    My stomach flipped. The one person I’d wished to see had seemingly appeared out of thin air.
    Why was he on the driveway? He didn’t seem like the type to hang out alone at a party. He should be surrounded by girls. Pretty girls who wore tiny swishy skirts and tight tops. Girls who painted their toenails bubble gum pink and had long glossy hair. Girls who screeched as boys chased them through the hallways trying to tickle them.
    Girls who weren’t like me.
    Girls I had no idea how to be like.
    I tried to figure out what to say. “I meant there are a lot of cars here, parked all over. The neighbors must notice what’s going on.”
    He laughed and touched my arm.
    â€œI don’t think most of the people here will care if the neighbors notice. Joe might, when his parents come home, but as for us”—he grinned—“we’ll be long gone. You don’t have to worry.”
    I must have looked as if I didn’t believe him because he stood right in front of me, so close I could see the small freckles across the top of his nose.
    â€œDon’t worry,” he