Silver Lake Read Online Free Page B

try to find subject matter that goes a little deeper than that.”
    “‘D’ is for a deep book about the alphabet,” Jason grinned, obviously unable to stop teasing her.
    Rain planted a punch on his shoulder in response. “I think I’ll skip ‘E’ and go right to ‘F’…I have a choice phrase in mind for you.”
    “Oh, Rainy,” Jason shook his head in mock exasperation. “I don’t think that’s appropriate language to be teaching kindergarteners.” He paused as they all laughed. “We’re just messing with you, Rain. Anything you write will be great. And like Allie said, we’ll all support you however we can.”
    Rain’s heart swelled with gratitude. “Thanks, guys. I don’t know if I’ll really get around to it, but I will have all summer here. I mean, my main focus is going to be on trying to figure out—” She broke off in mid-sentence as she remembered they weren’t supposed to bring up the mystery of Brandy on their first night together.
    The fire popped and crackled in the solemn silence that resulted, and Jason looped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. She bit her lip and shook her head at her stupid mistake. They had been having such a fun, carefree night.
    A.J.’s voice was cautious as he posed a question. “So as long as we’re thinking about it, does everyone agree that Brandy is dead?”
    There was an awkward pause, and then Rain spoke up in an attempt to salvage the previous lighthearted mood. “We did agree that we wouldn’t talk about Brandy tonight.”
    The fire suddenly flared higher and the flames blew sideways in Rain and Jason’s direction. The next thing Rain knew, she was flat on her back, looking up at the stars. Jason was on top of her, his strong body covering hers, making it difficult to breathe. She was still trying to figure out what happened when Jason pushed himself off her, looking down at her startled face.
    “Are you okay?” he asked Rain, at the same time A.J. and Allie were asking them both the same question. A.J. added, “Just what the hell was that?”
    Rain propped herself up on her elbows. “Yeah, I’m fine. Damn, you’re quick, Jay. Was that the wind?”
    Jason frowned. “There’s not much wind. Maybe there was something in the fire. It seems to be fine now, though. We should probably put it out, anyway.”
    Allie sat rigidly, her eyes wide. She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Well, I guess I’ll be the one to mention that it happened when we were talking about Brandy. Or more accurately, when we said we weren’t going to talk about Brandy.”
    “Um, that’s just for tonight,” Rain pointed out as she looked up at the sky. She wasn’t quite sure to whom she was addressing this reassurance. She sat up completely and looked at her friends. “Tomorrow, we’ll talk about it. How about in the afternoon? After everyone’s had a chance to sleep in, and enjoy the morning. We’ll just…get together and see where it goes.”
    Allie and Jason were quick to agree, but A.J. sighed skeptically. “I just can’t see what good bringing all this up again will do. But fine, whatever. Now, where did we land on breakfast? Any volunteers?”
    “I’ll cook breakfast, if everyone can wait until noon,” was Allie’s tired reply.

Chapter 4
    The dream was different this time. Jason lay on top of Rain, shielding her protectively as he had done earlier that night on the beach. Dozens of fires raged around them, the flames burning hot in bright, unlikely colors. And Brandy was there, dragging them across the sand with inhuman strength. Jason struggled against her as she pulled them toward the water, her sharp fingernails slicing his skin.
    He awoke with a start. The room was just beginning to lighten, tinged with the colors of dawn. His eyes found the clock and he sighed. It was 5:30 in the morning, too close to the time he normally rose to consider falling back asleep.
    He pushed himself up, grimacing at a sudden