Read Pretty Little Dead Girls for Free Online Page B

swatted at her roommate playfully. “When I said ‘run,’ I meant ‘run.’ Like I do. To keep in shape, so I can fit in my costumes. To quiet my mind. And you, my friend, really need to quiet your mind.”
    Bryony was intrigued. All her life she had been running, but now she could physically? Honestly? Truly? Run away?
    “What do I need to get started?” she asked.
    Syrina spoke through a mouthful of food, which was improper, of course, but certainly excusable because she was home and with a close friend, and was famished.
    “You’ll need some shoes. That’s pretty much it. Find a fabulous place to run. In fact, I suggest that you go to the Burke-Gilman Trail.”
    “Ooh, that sounds lovely! I’ll start tomorrow, then! The Burke-Gilman. Thank you, Syrina. You really are such a good friend to me.”
    She was, too. A loud girl, a sometimes impolite girl, but a kind girl all the same. She truly thought she was doing Bryony a favor. Running, if one takes to it, is a wonderful thing, a time to calm your emotions and work your mind and your body. She was certain that Bryony would, indeed, take to it, since she was adept at running. She had, as she had immediately seized upon, been running her entire life. Only now . . . perhaps she’d be getting some real use out of it.
    What Syrina didn’t factor in was what she tried to ignore. She tried harder than anybody else ever had, and at times was fairly successful. Her theater training helped her do this, she liked to think, and hoped it proved how fine an actress she was. She attempted to turn a blind eye to Bryony and the death that awaited her. She defied it, really, and that is why she suggested jogging on the Burke-Gilman; to flaunt Bryony’s life and vitality out in the open where it could not be missed. She hoped staring fate right in the eyes would somehow make it shrink away and throw its hands in the air, saying, “All right, all right, you can have the girl. I don’t need her, truly.”
    So run the Burke-Gilman trail, Bryony. Run fast and run well, and see if fate can catch you.
    Because lately, you see, more and more girls have gone missing there. But surely that won’t happen to her, of course not. After all, she has lived this long, hasn’t she?
    She has. Which means her time is coming closer and closer and closer. Fate can’t be thwarted forever. But Syrina, who certainly means well, wasn’t thinking of it this way.
    Which was a rather large mistake indeed.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    Her Fragile Hand
    Eddie woke up one morning and realized that he had fallen for Star Girl. He knew that it would come to pass, and although grudgingly displeased with it at first, he soon came to accept the idea. He watched her as she laughed with her friends at the market. He watched as she talked wildly with her hands, explaining something to Chad the Fish Guy. He fantasized about beating up Chad the Fish Guy, out in the parking lot, preferably. When the sun was down and the cops were all looking the other way. What he would really like to do would be to tie him up and throw him off the pier and into the sea, but Eddie realized that was going a little far. A man could dream, however.
    Speaking of dreams: A man walked by, eating a fresh miniature doughnut from the vender, and stopped abruptly when he heard Eddie play.
    “I like that song, boy. Did you write it?”
    “Yes, sir,” Eddie said politely. He could be extremely polite if he wanted to, and something about this man’s tailored slacks and friendly face told him that he wanted to.
    The man dug into his wallet for a five dollar bill and tossed it in Eddie’s guitar case. He also tossed in a business card.
    “Give that number a call,” he said. “I’d be interested in having you play down at the station.”
    The station in question was a local radio station that had an eclectic play list, and apparently Eddie and Jasmine were off-kilter enough to fit right in. He could hardly wait to tell Bryony, although he was trying