Read Online Riding Dirty by Abriella Blake - Free Book Online

available topics of conversation. And so the three of them had come to a sort of unspoken understanding that allowed them to lead non-intersecting lives in their tiny trailer. Now that they knew what was wrong with her health and they were on the transplant wait-list, there was nothing to talk about again.
    It was just as well, because Lacy was finding it really hard to focus on conversation or books lately anyway. Dr. Hall said it was because of her ascites getting worse, that her whole body was going to be getting more tired as her liver hardened into one big scar. It would make her brain slower, her skin yellower, her breath shallower. Toxins like copper would build up in her body and make the whites of her eyes change color. She felt full all the time, even when she didn’t eat. In fact, she barely ate anymore. It was too much work.
    The alarm clock went off, and Lacy pulled herself away from the window and slowly stood from her perch on the couch, stumbling over to the kitchen. She rifled through the cupboard, found her pills, and swallowed them. Then she trudged back to the couch and flopped down, catching her breath before picking up the envelope that was lying next to her lap. She had been waiting to open it, savoring the treat.
    She slowly and carefully tore along the top border of the envelope, so as not to rip through the address label in her sister’s sloppy handwriting. Las Vegas! It sounded so glamorous. Lacy gently slid out the contents of the envelope. There was a postcard with a photo of the Strip at night, the buildings so colorful and bright that Lacy could hardly believe they were real. On the back, Rowan had written, “It’s enough to make the fireflies jealous.”
    Lacy smiled, tracing her fingers over the Luxor pyramid and wondering what it felt like to walk down the street in front of it. Rowan had included a necklace, a small arrowhead shape fashioned out of rhinestones. Best of all, there was a letter.

    “Sweet pea,

    I wish you could know how much I miss you and love you. You’d like Las Vegas, I think. There’s a circus, a show with tigers, and so many interesting people that you’d never run out of story ideas. Someday maybe I’ll bring you here so you can eat at one of the casino buffets. They had an ice cream sculpture shaped like the Eiffel Tower last night. I can’t wait to show you the world outside Covington County. There’s so much waiting for you. We just have to get you healthy first!

    I’m sending you a good luck charm to wear every day, especially when you have to drive with mama to the city for the hospital. Fit for an Indian Fairy Queen…

    Don’t give up! I know it’s hard for you to write, so I am going to look for a tape recorder you can talk into. I want to hear the first chapter of your first full-length novel next time I visit home. I’ll hope to find one and some blank cassettes and send it in my next package.
    Stay strong, sweet pea. I may not be able to visit for a while. I’m sorry. It’s nothing to do with you, not even with or mama or George. I’m working really hard to try and get you the best doctor and the best surgery. Nothing but the best for my sister! I’ll come as quickly as I can. Don’t give up.

    Love,
    Roro”

    Lacy fastened her new necklace proudly around her thin neck and lost a few moments enraptured in the twinkle of the rhinestones. She didn’t really mind that Rowan still talked to her like a child. Mostly it made her feel loved, if a bit babied.
    Gathering herself, Lacy struggled up to her feet again, clutching the letter and postcard to her chest as she shuffled back to her bedroom. Even though she was alone in the silent house she deliberately closed her door behind her for privacy. She went to her mirror and drank in her reflection, happy to see that even though she was too skinny and too pale, she still looked a lot like her big sister. Rowan was so pretty. If Lacy got better, she might be beautiful like her someday. Her new