Read Dead Girls Don't Lie for Free Online

answer.
    “Anyway, somebody from the gang task force in Spokane is coming to take over the case. That’s what they did the last time.”
    He straddles the motorcycle and waits while I climb on awkwardly behind him. “Hold on tight; this road is pretty rough.” I wrap my arms around his waist, thinking about how many times I’ve dreamed of riding on Evan Cross’s motorcycle. I didn’t imagine looking this bad or being this scared. He kick-starts it. The bike lurches forward in a cloud of smoke and rocks. I lean into Evan’s back, but I can’t help but look behind us at the broken window and the faded graffiti on the side of the house.

Chapter 5
    “Ev-an Cross.” Claire repeats his name again, slowly, in disbelief.
    “And you look like that.” Taylor indicates my ponytail, my face, my outfit. Maybe she doesn’t mean it as rude as it sounds. She’s just more concerned about appearances than the rest of the world. She shakes her bleach-blond curls that will never touch lake water and takes a sip from her Diet Pepsi.
    There was no way Claire or Taylor or any of the other kids lounging around the edge of the lake could have missed me showing up with Evan. His motorcycle blasted the announcement from a mile away. Then he helped me take off the helmet and said good-bye in front of the gawking crowd. “I have some stuff to do for my uncle,” he said like he had to explain why he wasn’t staying. “But I might be back later. I kind of miss hanging out at this place.”
    “He saw me walking here and offered me a ride.” All the attention is making me feel dumb, and showing up at the lakeon Evan’s bike feels like cheating on Skyler, or Rachel’s memory, or maybe both. And what if my dad finds out? One way or another, everything I do seems to get back to him.
    “Next time I’m walking,” Taylor says, “if he’s willing to pick you up—”
    “At least you’re keeping it all in the family.” A nasty edge creeps into Claire’s voice, an edge I heard all the time before she started being nice again.
    I cringe, thinking about how bad that sounds. “I don’t, I didn’t—”
    “Oh, come on,” Taylor says. “Skyler is a good starter boyfriend. An okay first kiss, but Evan is eighteen and totally drool-worthy.”
    Claire and Taylor keep talking, analyzing my ride with Evan, strategizing the next step in our relationship. Arguing about whether I should let Skyler down easily, so there’s no bad blood between brothers, or if I should hold on to him until I’m sure about Evan. The conversation is getting to me, like my ride with Evan is the most important thing in the world. Like Rachel isn’t dead. Lying between them on my beach towel is making me claustrophobic.
    “Are you, like, having the best summer or what?” Taylor says, spinning her sunglasses around in her fingers. “I mean, first Skyler and now Evan. Wow. Just wow.”
    “Yeah,” I throw back at her. “If it weren’t for Rachel getting herself killed, this would be, like, the perfect summer.”
    Taylor freezes, her mouth wide open. “Jaycee, I’m sorry. I just—”
    “Forget it, okay, just forget it. I need to cool off.” I stalk across the beach to the end of the dock and dive in, deep. I stay submerged, opening my eyes to the green-gray world that surrounds me, pushing myself forward until my lungs feel like they’re going to burst. When I finally have to surface I keep swimming, ignoring Claire and Taylor yelling at me from the shore. I’m nearly to the middle of the lake and beyond any of the other kids before I realize it. I catch my breath and dive under again. I’ve never swum across the entire lake before. I’m not allowed to, even though it’s probably less than a half mile across. Now I feel like I have to. Like making it across will erase Taylor’s stupid comment, or the text, or even the last six months.
    Like it will bring Rachel back.
    I’m almost to the far side when my fingertips meet something dark and stringy.