Free Tangled by Carolyn Mackler Page B

if I hit one of those rocks lining the side of the canal.
    I scooted back from the edge. I may do some crazy things, but I’m not the suicide type. The whole concept of suicide freaks the shit out of me, deciding one day, Hey, I’m going to end my life. Scary as hell. Especially now that I know what it’s like when someone actually dies.
    When I was at that resort my mom took me to after Natalie died, the girl I hooked up with, Jena, founda suicide note on the edge of the hot tub. It was all about how some person wants to slice their wrists and bleed on a bed. When I read it, I thought I was going to vomit. I kept picturing an ambulance removing a corpse from the hotel, which then made me think about Natalie, wonder if she’d been in a body bag.
    Jena was cute, the smart, cheerful type. The only problem was, I got the feeling she liked me too much, thought I was going to be her Prince Charming. Also, she was there with a gorgeous friend who I happened to be alone with on the beach one afternoon. We played a few rounds of gin rummy and at first she was flirtatious, even coming with me on a boat ride that night. But as soon as I tried to touch her she went ice cold, barely talking to me. She split so quickly she left her cards in our rental car, but I could never track her down to give them back.
    Maybe it wasn’t the nicest thing in the world to blow off one girl for her hotter friend, but it’s not as if Jena and I had an official commitment. Not like Natalie and me, which makes it all the more messed up to find out she cheated on me even in the beginning, with a guy in the Bahamas.
    That fucking necklace.
    I unscrewed it from my neck and chucked it towardthe canal. It landed with a plunk and disappeared beneath the sludgy water.
    People would probably be shocked to discover this, but I never actually cheated on Natalie. Sure, I flirted with girls. But I never even kissed anyone else. Of course, when Natalie and I were in one of our breakups, I did whatever I wanted. It was amazing how quickly the sophomore girls would put out, almost like they had something to prove.
    Whenever we made up, Natalie would be pissed. “How could you have been with that slut, Dakota?” she’d say. “Did you look at her nose? She’s not even cute!”
    I knew better than to defend myself, so I’d reassure Natalie that I was drunk when it happened, that she was much sexier than any of them.
    “Hey, buddy, what’s going on up there?”
    I glanced over the edge of the lock.
    Fuck.
    A patrol car was parked next to mine and I could see two cops. A chunky one was hanging out near the cars, his hand positioned on his right hip. The other, a tall guy, was hiking up the incline toward the canal. I quickly stuffed my sports bottle under the metal grate.
    At least it was the Brockport Police. Better than the sheriff’s office because then it’d get back to my dad.
    “Everything okay up there?” the tall cop asked, peering up at me.
    “Yes, sir,” I called down to him. I know from my dad that it’s key to cooperate with police. Most of them start off calm, but if you get mouthy they’re going to escalate things. Next thing you know you’re at the station getting fingerprinted.
    “Are you coming down or do you need me to get you?”
    “No, sir,” I said. “Sorry. I’m coming down.”
    I swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t smell the Jack on my breath, and lowered my foot onto the top rung. My knee was killing and my pecs felt like they were going to tear and the alcohol was screwing with my coordination. But I could feel this guy watching me closely, so I directed all my concentration on climbing, climbing, climbing—
    My foot missed a rung and I slipped. I quickly caught myself, but my heart was racing so fast I could barely hold on.
    “You okay?”
    “Yeah,” I said. I took a deep breath and resumed my descent.
    When I reached the bottom, I brushed my hair out of my face. Sweat was pouring down my forehead. So much for calm and