Strange and Lovely (Part 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

your class. You were all student council presidents, captain of some sports team, and won every science fair you ever entered. You know what happens to all of that? It goes on a piece of paper, and the admission’s office shreds it.”
    He shrugged, and picked up a newspaper.
    “Two prostitutes murdered on Fulton Street,” he muttered. “Beheaded again.”
    “Gang violence,” I said. He raised his eyebrow at me.
    “In Lower Manhattan?” he asked. “No, whoever is killing these people are professionals at what they do. Gang members might be sufficient at killing, but they don’t manage to stay under the radar for long.”
    “Who do you think it is, then?” I asked. He shrugged.
    “If the media can call it whatever it likes, then we can call it whatever we like. Upper class violence. Old school killing. Murder. ” He shook his head. “Do you know why you would cut someone’s head off?”
    “To make sure that they’re dead?” I asked. He smirked.
    “You cut off someone’s head to send a very clear message,” he said. “You can drop a body into a lake or the ocean. You can leave it in the trash. But a beheading will get a lot of attention, especially when there’s more than one person beheaded at a time. Someone wants these murders to attract attention. They want someone to know that they are willing to go to these lengths just to send a message.”
    I bit my lip. “Seems like a gang-related thing to do.”
    “Well, it might be a gang, but not the kind you’re thinking of. A company of stockbrokers, a group of students, a group of prostitutes...they’re all gangs. The group just needs to have a common purpose, and work toward fulfilling that purpose,” he said. He leaned toward me. His gaze ran up from my toes to my eyes.
    “Why don’t you go back to your dorm, and find your purpose?” he said. “Try not to get murdered along the way.”
    I stared at him, but he was busy looking through the newspaper. I walked out of the room, making sure to not open the door too much and release the scent of pot into the hallway. As I was walking out of the building, my cell phone vibrated. I looked at it, and a text was on the screen.
    Meet me at The Legend tonight. Sometime between 8 and 9. —Declan

Chapter 5
    W hen I walked into The Legend, I didn’t see Declan anywhere, so I sat down at the bar. A bartender walked over to me.
    “What would you like?” he asked.
    “I’m just waiting for someone,” I said. He nodded, and walked away. I glance at my cell phone. 7:59. I looked around the bar again. There was a group of college friends sitting at the table I had sat at last time. There were also a few older patrons who looked annoyed at the student’s loud laughter.
    “Hey.” I turned around to see Declan behind the bar. He jumped over it, and sat on the stool beside me.
    “Hey,” I echoed. I used to always know what to say to Declan. We never had awkward silences until now. I uncross and cross my legs. Declan avoids my eyes. “Um, I’m sorry if I made you feel that you weren’t good enough. You’re my best friend. I never saw you as anything other than that.”
    “I noticed,” he said. I looked down at my hands. “You’ve always known I’ve wanted more than that.”
    I looked over at him. I noticed the way the muscles in his biceps moved as he shifted his weight, and the way his eyes reminded me of the midnight sky. Dr. Federov had said that I compartmentalized. Had I defined Declan as a friend, and therefore, I had become incapable of seeing him as anything else?
    “Maybe I was afraid,” I said.
    “I am not that scary,” Declan said. “I clearly remember the first thing you did to me was push me down. I couldn’t look at any of the other third grade boys in the eye for a week.”
    I laughed. “No, I wasn’t afraid of you. I was afraid...that I would mess up our friendship if we pursued a relationship. You know how I am. When relationships start getting deeper, I try to push the man