Wake for Me (Life or Death Series) Read Online Free

suddenly a slut. It’s ridiculous. This is why the world is such a messed up place.”
    Any minute now, these girls are going to attack me. I can feel it. But for now, all they’re doing is tugging at my arms and legs. I close my eyes, trying to shut out their inane babble. Why can’t I just go back into the Sam dream?
    “Still…Dr. Brady? If you’re going to mess around with interns, you should at least pick someone nice, like Dr. Philips.”
    “No way. I like my men manly.”
    “What? Dr. Philips is manly. He’s so…tall.”
    My hair is being tugged now, over and over again. It hurts, but not as much as it usually does. I take a chance and open my eyes. The girls are gathered around me now, in a circle. They’ve started braiding each other’s hair, while a few of them perch on the edge of the fountain, whispering.
    “Candace, you poor little thing. Manliness isn’t a look; it’s a frame of mind. You don’t want a guy who says ‘excuse me’ when he bumps into you in the hallway. You want a guy who tells you to shut your whore mouth while he bangs you, without mercy, up against a wall.”
    The strangeness of the situation has finally started to settle into my brain, as I realize that the girls in my dream are talking about Sam. How do the girls at my high school know about Sam? Fear tightens my chest. They’ve got something on me now. They know my weakness.
    “What in the hell is wrong with you?” This voice doesn’t fit with the others, and I crane my head around, searching for the source. Sister Magdalena, my sophomore philosophy teacher, stands at the edge of the circle, fists on hips, glowering at everyone. Her voice sounds funny, though. Different. “When I was your age, girls would claw each other’s eyes out over a nice, respectable boy like Dr. Philips. But not your damn, self-esteem warped generation. No, y’all want boys with mommy issues, covered in tattoos, working weekends at some no-benefits job.”
    Whitney laughs. “Throw in a drinking problem and I’d say you’re pretty much on track.”
    “Makes me sick,” Sister Magdalena continues. “Mark my words, Candace. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from doctors altogether. They’re all so full of themselves and their problems, you’d be lucky if they remember your name.”
“Yes ma’am,” Whitney and the redhead intone in unison, solemnly saluting.
    “And make sure y’all are done in here before two. I need you at the nurse’s station in time for report.”
    There’s a moment of silence, as I lie on my back and watch the sun race across the sky. This gossip is confusing, and exhausting, and it makes my scalp hurt. My skin feels cold, and I look down to see that I’m bleeding from my wrists.
    Off to my left, the redhead—Candace, probably—whispers loudly in my direction.
    “Don’t tell Lucinda, but I kind of have a crush on Dr. Philips. You think he’d go out with me if I asked him?”
    The sky turns the color of steel. An acid rain falls. I cover my head with my arms, but I can feel it eating away at my clothes and skin. A yellow snake slithers through the grass, stopping to curl up underneath my legs. I’m terrified of snakes, but just now I’m too tired to be afraid.
    Sister Magdalena looks down at me from the chapel window. My clothes are gone, melted away. I blink and it’s not Sister Magdalena anymore, it’s my mother. She puts a hand to her mouth and retreats into the shadows. All around me, the girls are laughing and pointing, impervious to the rain.
    The next thing I know, I’m standing on a stage. A sea of foreign faces stretches out in front of me. Music fills the room, but I don’t know the words. All I know is that I’m supposed to be performing. Frantic, I duck behind the curtain, only to realize I’m not wearing any clothes. I can’t go on without a costume. People will laugh.
    I spend the next few hours searching for the pieces of my costume. I can dance for the audience, I