Read Online Second Nature by Ae Watson - Free Book Online

obsessed with it—was his death.
    Ashton was alive, and I
would find him.
    Thinking about the
corkboard brought back a lead I had wanted to explore. I gave Sierra a look.
“Where did you get the dress you wore the night of the party at Rachel’s?”
    “Rach.” She looked
confused but answered plainly.
    “Rachel gave you that
dress?”
    “She loaned it to me. She
said it didn't look as good on her. Her boobs were too small for it.” Her lips turned
up into an evil grin. “Why, you wanna undo the tape on your boobs and borrow
it?”
    A grimace crossed my
face. “No. Isn’t the dress burnt with the rest of our clothes?”
    “Oh yeah.” Her smirk
dropped away, and it was her turn to flush with color. “I forgot.”
    “Where did Rachel get
it?”
    “The silver one from the
party, that you were wearing?” Rita crossed the deck to us.
    “Yeah.” Sierra nodded.
    “She got it in New York.
I was with her, last April. We went to a shitty fashion show for an
up-and-coming designer, a random label. Rachel seemed really into the guy. He
was young and more like a villager than a designer. Hipster.” Rita’s nose
wrinkled.
    “What was his name?”
    Rita tapped a red
fingernail to her plump lip. “Shuster something.”
    “Shuster Helmut?” The
name popped from my lips before the memory of Rachel discussing them did. I
hadn’t been part of the conversation but I had overheard her discussing the
line. The name was ridiculous.
    “Yeah! That's it!” She
rolled her eyes. “Ugliest fashion show I ever went to. Rachel did have truly
horrible taste when left to her own devices. Thank God for her mother.” She
chuckled and went back to organizing the patio heaters. “She actually went
through the bag Rachel brought and told her what she was allowed to wear and
what she wasn’t.”
    Sierra gave me a look,
and I nodded back. Apparently, neither of us had ever noticed that side of
Rachel, even after all those years. But she had been comfortable to show it to
Rita on their first meeting? That was bizarre.
    I hoped Sierra was starting
to realize we needed to get into Rachel’s room. If the dress was a
prêt-à-porter that was one thing, but haute couture meant that it was likely
one of a kind until the sale of the line. Only I had seen a second dress at
Rachel’s party. Being in the same dress as someone else was something Rachel
wouldn't have stood for, not the Rachel who cared what she wore. The hipster
version of Rachel was a beast I didn't know. Which also made me wonder what
else I didn't know. Her room had to have answers.
    I placed a large bouquet
of flowers on the appetizer table and turned, greeted by Andrew Henning walking
through the French doors from the games room. He looked the same as he had
before his dad died, not even a little drawn or tired. He looked normal. I didn't
expect that. I assumed there would be a trace of the death in his eyes.
    “Hey.” I offered a weak
smile, trying so very hard not to treat him differently.
    “Hey.” He smiled back
wider, much wider. His soft-brown eyes were clear and his face was tanned like he’d
been boating or something. Even his brunet hair seemed lighter. Had they gone on vacation?
    “How are you?” I didn't
mean to say it, but I couldn't stop myself.
    Humor filled his eyes.
“Good, Lain. It’s still me. I’m good. I promise.” He chuckled and walked past
me, shaking his head and patting me on the arm like he might have felt sorry
for me instead.
    It was officially the
most awkward moment I had lived through. Even more than admitting my feelings
for Ashton to Vincent. Even more than the bra fitting my mom made me endure
where I was pretty much molested by an evil French woman while she and Mommy
Dearest mocked my posture and lack of self-esteem. Well, maybe not that
awkward.
    Jake strolled out of
Rita’s house, grinning at me. His eyes always slipped to my chest, always. Like
he knew the secret of the tensor bandage, or he just truly enjoyed seeing