Fractured ( Fractured #1) Read Online Free Page B

that time in the first grade, and even the ten was a generous count. “Fine, Jennifer. How are you?”
    “Oh, I’m thrilled now that school is over. Aren’t you?” I nodded and gave her my best fake grin. “Mom and I are getting the works done for my big end-of -the-school-year party tomorrow.” Everyone in our grade had been invited, including me, but I wasn’t much of a party-goer, so I responded that we had our own celebration to attend. “Do you have any plans for the summer?”
    “I think I’m just going to catch up on my reading , and maybe draw some landscapes.” It was true. I didn’t want to tell her that I’d be taking care of my severely autistic brother because my mother was too drunk to care about anyone but herself. Or that I’d be cleaning the house while Bryan was working, or hanging out with his buddy who was always trying to get into every girl’s pants. Or even that I had to cook and do laundry for my dad, who was busy being a ‘non-professional’ so he could keep my mother swimming in alcohol. She’d only think I was pathetic. Well, I was, wasn’t I?
    “Oh. A few of t he girls and I got jobs as lifeguards at the beach. You should come hang out some time. There are tons of cute guys there.” The ‘girls,’ as she put it, were Liz, Tanya, and Courtney; the Beauty Apocalypse I mentioned before. They were the most popular girls in Wood Oaks, and uber-snobby. In fact, they were snob-squared. None of them needed to work. Their parents were the mega-professionals – doctors, lawyers and stockbrokers – that kept our little town on the list of most affluent neighborhoods in America; not like my dad, who struggled to keep the roof over our heads by fixing their Mercedes-Benzes and Porches. The only reason Jennifer would get a job as a lifeguard was to show off her incredible body, and flirt with every boy she knew. And I couldn’t imagine why she’d want me there, unless it was to boost her ego, knowing that I wouldn’t even attract her rejects.
    “Okay, maybe I’ll come down to the beach a couple of times this summer,” I said, offering my fake smirk again. Then I turned to continue on my way.
    Just a few steps past her, thinking our exchange was finished, she called out, “Oh, don’t forget to tell your brother to come to the beach, too.”
    Oh, now I get it. Bryan was the real reason she made it a point to talk to me. To tell me about her summer position so that he could go flirt with her. Bryan was very good looking. He’d conditioned his body to be nothing short of Hercules, and his face could easily grace the cover of GQ magazine. He’s the triplet that got all of the physical talent – looks, nice body, athletic ability. Of course, he’s the high school quarterback. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized that I was nothing more than the errand girl, given information to pass along to my socially and physically gifted brother. Hmm… Yeah, right. What was I, his social secretary? I’d pass it on, if I felt like it . I waved a hand to acknowledge her request.
    The whole Jennifer exchange dampened my mood, but it lightened when I caught sight of the supermarket sign. A small bounce took over my steps as I walked through the automatic doors and into the fluorescent lights of the bakery section.
    Gathering the items on my short list, I hurried up and down the aisles so that I could spend as much time as possible in the produce section, which was directly across from the deli counter. I fondled and squeezed every tomato and cucumber, glancing up toward the deli counter periodically for any small glimpse of him. But he wasn’t there. Without wanting to be labeled a veggie molester, I picked what I needed for dinner, and trudged over to the checkout line. My shoulders drooped, my hope deflated.
    “Next.” I shuffled in the line and looked up to see Mr. Dimple scanning the items that the guy in front of me had. My hope re-inflated, as if someone had pumped me up with