Frayed Read Online Free Page A

pinched into a scowl as he looked at the road ahead of him.
    “Yes?” I prompted, curiosity evident in my voice.
    “You know Kesley’s old friend is back, don’t you?” Instantly, I stiffened in my seat. Even the mention of Rafe made me nervous. I’d managed to forget about the plane ticket for a short time, but Jackson’s throwaway comment sent me crashing back to reality. I needed to talk to Rafe to clarify things.
    “Old friend?” I picked at some of the dried paint under my nails, feigning disinterest. “Who?”
    “You know,” said Jackson. “The one with the blue eyes. Ralf or something.”
    I smiled despite the situation. He would hate being called that. “Rafe. And, no, I didn’t know he was back.” There was a brief moment of silence before I ventured further. “When did he arrive?”
    “A few days ago, I think. That’s what he was telling everyone anyway.”
    My blood turned to ice at Jackson’s words, but I made sure that none of the turmoil twisting inside me showed on my face. Rafe was lying when he came back to Circling Pines. What was that supposed to mean—and why? To clear his name or for some other reason?
    The plane ticket suggested he came back before Kesley’s death—but my sister’s funeral had been almost a month ago.
    “You okay, Ava?”
    I swallowed. My throat felt too thick. Mouth too dry. Uncontrollable fear pulsed under my skin, shooting adrenaline through my veins. I had to reach down out of sight and pinch my forearm. The sharp pain helped to clear my mind, helped me think more rationally.
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” I knew I didn’t sound it. “I just… I just didn’t realize he was going to come back after Kesley—” I stopped there, biting down hard on my tongue.
    “I want you to stay away from him,” Jackson said. I was taken aback by the hardened edge to his voice, but I dared to shoot him a look. His face was expressionless enough, although a muscle in his jaw ticked.
    “Why?” I asked hesitantly.
    “He’s bad news. I can feel it.” Under any other circumstances, I would have laughed and asked if Jackson was psychic, but the last thing I felt like doing right now was smiling. Instead, I just stared out the window without replying. I was beginning to wonder if Jackson knew something about Rafe that I didn’t.
    The fog was gradually beginning to float away, and the school’s harsh outline was becoming visible through the gloom.
    “Just promise me you won’t—” Jackson started.
    “Okay, okay, I promise. There’s no need to sound like my mother. One is enough, thanks.” His laughter broke through the tense silence, and I smiled.
    Another beat of silence passed before I ventured to speak again. There was something I wanted to know—desperately—but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without making it sound like an accusation. “How’s May?”
    May, Jackson’s older sister and a senior in high school, was the same age as Kesley. Being a junior, I’d always felt intimidated by May and her friends. I regretted asking about May when I saw Jackson’s fingers clench around the steering wheel, but he answered me in a relatively calm voice.
    “Better than usual, actually.” Then he added, “I guess as good as she can ever be. Still doesn’t do her homework, and she’s probably going to fail her final exams.”
    “What about… them ?”
    He laughed. “ Them? Their name isn’t cursed, you know. You can say it.”
    I grimaced. “I know. I just don’t like them. I don’t get it.”
    “You and the rest of the town,” he muttered.
    May was part of Circling Pines’s infamous girl gang KARMA. In the past few months alone, their little group had committed more than ten indiscretions at the expense of other people. Usually, these were just small, immature things, like stealing from the local grocery store. Or spray-painting walls. But now and then, something more horrible would crop up. Like an incident a few months ago that left an old woman