Double-Crossed Read Online Free PDF

she likes me.”
    â€œYou think every girl likes you,” Oscar said.
    â€œThat’s because it’s true.”
    Alicia and I exchanged a worried look.
    â€œI’m going to explain how it works here,” she whispered to me, then took Eddie by the arm and walked ahead of us as we headed for the truck. I saw that she was talking to him in a very serious tone. He listened to her, then just laughed and walked on ahead.
    â€œWhat did you say to him?” I asked as she rejoined Oscar and me.
    â€œI told him that those girls at the beach club are very rich,” she explained. “And that the boys they like come from rich families with fancy cars and big houses.”
    â€œAnd what did he say?”
    â€œHe laughed and said that they hadn’t met Eddie Bermudez yet.”
    That was a worrisome thought. Eddie didn’t know those SF2 kids. They came from an entirely different world, and they didn’t exactly welcome outsiders. I could vouch for that from personal experience. They kind of accepted Charlie because she worked so hard at being liked. But the minute I became friends with Alicia, they wrote me off as worthless.
    As we headed back to Candido’s truck, I watched Oscar and Eddie stop to look at the last of the surfers riding the waves in.
    â€œIs Oscar always so sweet and friendly?” I asked Alicia.
    She shook her head. “I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s always funny, but he usually doesn’t talk this much. He spends most of his time drawing because he wants to be a comic book artist someday. As you can see, he loves all that stuff.”
    â€œWhat a cool thing to want to be,” I said.
    Alicia was quiet for a minute. When she spoke, she seemed to be carefully selecting her words.
    â€œI think he likes you, Sammie,” she said in a serious tone.
    â€œI like him, too,” I answered. “He’s hilarious . . . and obviously really talented.”
    She turned to me and took my hand, a worried look on her face. “Oscar has been through a lot. He has a very tender heart.”
    â€œWhat are you saying, Alicia?”
    â€œI’m just saying be careful,” she said. “He means a lot to me.”
    I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but before I could ask she had run off to watch the sunset with her cousins.

Two Parties
    Chapter
3
    â€œHey, look who finally decided to show up,” Ryan said as we walked in from the parking lot and pushed open the gate to the beach club. “What took you so long?”
    â€œWe got some fries at Jody’s Sausage Stand,” I said.
    â€œWhat? And you didn’t bring any back for your favorite brother?”
    â€œRyan, you’re my
only
brother.”
    â€œWhich makes me automatically your favorite. Isn’t that right, guys?” he said, giving Oscar and Eddie a punch in the arm.
    Even though they had never met before, Eddie and Oscar immediately punched Ryan right back, and the three of them cracked up. I don’t know what it is with boys, what makes them think a slug in the arm is an invitation to be best friends. I mean, if someone punches me, I want to punch them back twice as hard.
    Ryan threw his arm around Eddie’s shoulder.
    â€œHey, I’m Ryan. And I have to tell you that if I hear one more, ‘That looks adorable on you,’ my head just might explode off my neck.”
    Oscar looked very concerned.
    â€œWhat is the problem with his head?” he leaned over and whispered.
    â€œNothing,” I answered. “Unless you consider missing a brain a problem.”
    â€œOh, that sounds very serious,” Oscar said, looking suddenly sad. “Your poor brother.”
    He clutched his heart. I felt terrible. Obviously, he hadn’t gotten my sarcasm.
    â€œOh no, Oscar,” I hurried to add, remembering Alicia’s warning about his tender heart. “He really does have a brain. I was just