Shining Sea Read Online Free PDF Page A

chivalrous gesture attracts enough attention that it makes me uncomfortable. But once again, he doesn’t seem to care about the looks and whispers.
    “He doesn’t care about anything—except maybe you.” That’s what Mary told me last night on the phone.
    I told her, “That’s pretty heavy considering Logan and I have only known each other a couple of weeks.”
    “Maybe,” she replied. “But I still think it’s a good thing. It’s like . . . he’s coming back to life or something. Losing his brother . . . that changed him. I just—I want him to change back.”
    At that point, I said I knew exactly what she meant, and told her about Lilah.
    “I am so sorry,” she responded. “I heard something, about an accident. People talk, you know? But I didn’t know the details. I’m really sorry.”
    Neither of us mentioned the strange parallel with Logan and me. Maybe because it’s not really a parallel at all: my sister is alive. Still—the water. It hurt us both. I can’t help but wonder if he hates it like I do. Can’t help but wonder—if he’s afraid.
    The morning passes quickly, and when lunchtime comes I sit down in my usual seat next to Mary at a table near the back door of the cafeteria that leads out to the patio.
    “Finally, girrrl time,” she growls with a sneer.
    I laugh. We’re far from riot girls. Like me, Mary’s focused on school. Unlike me, she has a boyfriend, Kevin Eaton. She has friends, but Kevin—a tall, serious guy who wants to be a doctor—is her priority. His lunch is next period, though, so Mary and I have eaten together every day since the first day of school.
    The three Kevins in our little group love to rib Mary, asking her over and over if she’s sure she’s chosen the right one. She and her Kevin plan on getting married when they graduate. Not my idea of a good time, but I’m not about to criticize my new best friend. My other new best friend, I correct as I look up and see Logan leaning against the window of the radio station.
    The station is housed in one corner of the cafeteria and run by students, and apparently Logan Delaine puts together a pretty good playlist. Two younger girls are gazing up worshipfully as they chatter at him—although the color in their cheeks suggests they may have something other than music on their minds. He nods at them but grins at me. He crooks a finger, but I shake my head.
    Time to ask Mary about the suicidal surfer. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t go to RHHH, because I haven’t seen him, and I realize now, I’ve been looking. Scanning the hallways, the faces—I can’t stop thinking about him.
    To be so consumed with someone I’ve never met—I’m worried Mary will think I’m a freak, which is why I haven’t said anything yet. But I’m hard up enough now for info about Mr. Black Board Shorts to reveal my obsessive-compulsive tendencies to her.
    Something has kept me from asking Logan.
    I turn to Mary, but she’s already watching me with a certain amount of glee. It appears she’s been following the silent exchange between Logan and me.
    “Oh yeah,” she says. “I like it. Man, he is staring at you.”
    “That’s just those ghost eyes of his, how they look.” I lay my head down on my arms.
    “Oh right, like Logan looks at everyone the way he looks at you.”
    “He does,” I mumble.
    “Not. Come on, I’ve seen you two talking on the front steps after school. Every day, I might add. Why don’t you go out with him? He’s hot, his family’s nice, and plus, his dad’s a cop.”
    “Mary, please.” The table smells like cleanser. I sit up.
    “Hey, you never know when you might need the law on your side.” She gives a sly laugh.
    “Um, I really can’t think about that kind of thing right now.” I’ve never had a boyfriend, never really dated anyone. Actually, I could think about it, only, not with Logan. “Mary, there’s a cove, over near the lighthouse—”
    She cuts me off. “What kind of ‘thing’?