Lake Thirteen Read Online Free PDF

“I’m sick of killing pigs. But I’m going to kill you if there are snakes.”
    I got up and stretched. I wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, but figured how much trouble can we get into at a cemetery? Besides, my only other choice was to stay behind by myself and go listen to the boring college stories of the glory days at Beta Kappa.
    Not much of a choice, really.
    We trooped through the main room of the lodge. Our parents didn’t even look up at us as we passed by, focused instead on their card game and the story my dad and Uncle David were taking turns telling, big stupid grins on their faces. It was a story I’d heard a million times before—the Great Panty Raid on Delta Zeta sorority, when Uncle David had broken his ankle and had to limp out of the house while the sorority sisters threw things at him. But when we reached the front door, my dad called after us, almost as an afterthought, “You kids be careful, you hear? Don’t be getting into trouble.”
    “Sure thing, Dad,” I said just before I went outside, waving back and smiling. The door shut behind me and I suppressed a shiver.
    It was ridiculously still and quiet outside.
    And it was really dark outside the cone of yellow light from the bare bulb next to the side door.
    “They’re okay with us going to the cemetery?” I asked as we trudged across the parking lot. I wrapped my arms around myself and didn’t look over to the tree line. There was still mist, and it was cooler now than before, but there was still some damp to the air.
    “I told them we were just going to drive down to the lake,” Logan admitted. “They don’t have to know exactly where we’re going, do they?”
    I bit my lower lip and hoped nothing went wrong.
    There was no sound other than the occasional call of a bird piercing the stillness inside the woods. It was so dark I couldn’t even see the lights Mom had left on at our cabin, even though I knew it was just through the forest. There was no one else staying at Mohawk—we had the place to ourselves, although the Bartletts, who owned and ran the place, said some townspeople might come up for dinner at the lodge restaurant every night. The moon came out from behind clouds and shone on the surface of the calm lake. A shiver went down my spine. It had been a lot warmer when we’d arrived, but it was still muggy and warm. The SUV chirped and its lights blinked as Logan clicked the doors unlocked.
    Teresa hooked her arm through mine as we walked across the gravel parking lot. “You’re awful quiet,” she said, tilting her head so it rested against my upper arm as we walked. “Not like you. You haven’t said much since we got here.”
    I shrugged.
    “Is it the gay thing?” she lowered her voice. “Were you worried about how we’d react? Because you didn’t have to be.” She rubbed her hand on my back. “I told you, we’re good. Logan will make some stupid jokes but they won’t mean anything. We have some gay kids at our school and Logan’s fine with it. He may not be the brightest but he’s not mean.” She shrugged. “As for Rachel and Carson, who knows? They live in Beverly Hills, so I’d imagine it’s no big deal for them, either.”
    “Yeah, Logan said he was cool with it before dinner, and Carson seems to be pretty cool with everything.” I said cautiously as we reached the SUV. “But Rachel hasn’t said two words to me—not even hello.”
    Teresa shook her head as we got into the backseat of the SUV and mouthed the word later at me. I slid across the seat, and she climbed in next to me, shutting the door as Logan started the ignition. I was sitting in the middle, with Rachel on my other side. She didn’t look at me—she was fiddling with her phone, trying to get a signal. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes as Logan backed out of the parking spot.
    The gay thing.
    I swallowed and took a deep breath.
    No one back home knew. But I hadn’t wanted to spend another vacation lying to my oldest