Read As Dead as It Gets for Free Online Page A

a moment and then sat back.
    Megan seemed to be slinking around the edges of the party, staying as far from me as she could, and Kasey was planted in the center of a group of kids, a glittery gold party hat stuck on her head, and her eyes squinting shut as she laughed at something. I watched her, aware of how relieved it made me to see her having fun, being goofy. It was everything I wanted for her.
    So I relaxed—minutely.
    A figure came and stood in front of me, almost obscuring my view of my sister.
    I sat up straight.
    “Yawn,” Lydia said. With a flat smile, she swept her hand across the surface of the table. It passed through most of the dishes but caught on my punch cup, which clattered to the floor, spilling bright red liquid all over the pale floor tiles.
    The room fell silent, and everyone looked at me.
    “Whoops,” Lydia said.
    A few seconds later, Pepper Laird came over with a roll of paper towels. The captain of the cheerleading squad kneeling to clean up my mess. I imagined it wouldn’t be long before Kasey’s invitations didn’t automatically include me anymore.
    “Sorry,” I said, trying to help clean up, but more concerned with keeping an eye on Lydia.
    “Sorry,” Lydia mimicked. “Still kissing up to the cheerleaders. Oh, Pepper, please forgive me. You make me sick .”
    She disappeared, and I looked around frantically. There were easily a dozen former Sunshine Club members here. I didn’t want any of them to end up comatose like Kendra.
    “No big deal,” Pepper said, but I could tell she was annoyed. She stood up, her hands full of sopping-wet napkins.
    This whole night was a mistake. I grabbed my bag. “I’d better go. Thanks for letting me come. Sorry about the mess.”
    Pepper had to get to the trash can before she got dripped on, so she couldn’t protest even if she’d wanted to, which, frankly, I don’t think she did. I got up and headed for the door, with Lydia walking backward in front of me.
    “Leaving so soon?” She drew up all of her energy and bumped into a kid who was perched on a barstool. He grunted in surprise as he almost fell off, then steadied himself and shot me an irritated look.
    “Pardon me,” I said. I turned around to look for Kasey. I had to tell her I was leaving, but I couldn’t risk going back through the crowd.
    As I got to the front hall, the guest bathroom door opened and Megan came out. “You’re leaving?”
    “Yes,” I said. “I have to go. Um…could you do me a favor and tell my sister?”
    Megan’s forehead wrinkled. “Why don’t you tell her?”
    “Megan’s looking well,” Lydia said. “Too bad she wasn’t the one who died. Then you might be the tiniest bit sorry.”
    As she said that, she swung her arm at Megan’s forehead. I flinched as it went through and came out the other side.
    “Oh, no…not another migraine.” Megan winced and rubbed her temple. “So listen. There’s this thing I’ve been doing at school—on Tuesday afternoons—it’s like a club.…”
    I listened, trying to keep an eye out for Lydia.
    “And I was thinking, if you want to come with me sometime, maybe…”
    “Yes,” I said. “What time? Where?”
    She half laughed. “Don’t you even want to know what it is?”
    “No. I don’t care.”
    For a moment she looked as if she regretted mentioning it at all. “Tuesday, four forty-five, at the Sacred Heart Community Hall. The entrance is on Poplar Street.”
    “Great,” I said, glancing around.
    Oh, jeez. Lydia was studying the giant tropical aquarium in the dining room.
    My mere presence put every living creature around me in danger, regardless of species. I felt like a ticking time bomb. “I have to go,” I said. “Never mind about Kasey—I’ll just text her.”
    “I can tell her if you need me to,” Megan said. I heard a razor-thin edge of judgment in her voice.
    “No, don’t worry,” I said. “Bye.”
    But as I reached the front door, I heard my sister shout my name. She was pushing