Free C I N: "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." (The C I N Series) by Christina Leigh Pritchard

darkened waters. The water was rough and almost pushed us toward the shore.
    “He’s right over there.” She pointed at a lone kayak a few yards away. “Let’s get out of the water.”
    Waves rocked us. Our kayak swayed sideways, jerking furiously. I set my feet firmly on the floorboards to balance myself. “Good idea.”
    All of a sudden, a huge wave, three times our size, collapsed on top of us. The kayak tipped over.
    I was upside down under the water. My throat stung from the salty water and it hurt to hold my breath. I struggled to free myself but my legs were caught inside the seat. I swayed back and forth, trying to lift myself forward.
    I really was going to die in Lynn.
    Except it wasn’t Ally who was going to kill me.
    I was going to drown.
    My eyes burned and I slapped the side of the boat. I needed air in my lungs. They were about to burst from the pressure. What would my mom say when she came to get me? Millie where is my precious daughter? Dead?! You only watched her for three days!
    Who was I kidding? My mom wasn’t coming to get me and she wasn’t going to miss me if I drowned.
    I still didn’t want to die.
    I struggled to free my leg. It wouldn’t budge. I’d caught it underneath the safety bar. Yeah, real security…
    Suddenly, the kayak flipped forward and I gasped for air. My lungs burned and I felt as if I were going to explode all over. I coughed up water from my lungs. Ally was coughing, too. She’d been stuck as well. We gagged and spit out salt water.
    Alex sat in his kayak with a pained expression. “That was a close one.”
    I couldn’t speak. My hands, arms, face and the whole rest of my body trembled and shivered from the cold.
    He held on tight to our boat. “I think we should hurry home.”
    I looked up at the sky. It was clear, as if it hadn’t threatened to rain just moments ago. The ocean waters were calm and relaxed, too. “I lost my oar.”
    Ally laughed. “Me, too.”
    Alex tied our kayak to his and pulled us back. He had to pay for the lost oars and he rented towels from the cabana boy so that Ally and I could dry off. We walked back up the road to the house. Our clothes dried some in the sun and when we arrived home there was an old Mitsubishi in the yard.
    It couldn’t be!

Nine The Electrifying Truth

    I ran, slipping and sliding in Ally’s flip flops. Amber; she’d come back for me. I knew she couldn’t stay away from me too long! I was going home! It was a miracle. And to think I’d almost given up on her.
    Outside, sitting on the purple porch swing was my mom. She saw me and burst into tears. Her long blond hair was cut short, to her ears, and she wore overalls (of all things). I didn’t care; my mom had come to take me back. She really did love me. Amber didn’t say she loved me but why else would she drive across the country to come get me?
    “Mom!” I raced up the steps and collided into her arms. She swung me around and squeezed me tight. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she pulled away to get a good look at me.
    “You look different. Darker—”
    “Yeah, hello to you, too,” I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here? I’ve been waiting for you to call me!”
    “I’ve called you every day since you left. I kept getting Millie’s answering machine and panicked. I thought something happened to you so I got in my car and drove all night.”
    “You must be tired,” I said. “Are you hungry?”
    “Starving.   Let’s go out to eat some place nice. You can tell me all about Lynn.” She surveyed my wet clothes. “It looks like you’re having fun.”
    I forced myself to smile. There was no sense in telling her about my near death experience or about Ally and her practical jokes. I was going home, so it didn’t matter anymore.
    Alex and Ally stood a few feet away. They glared at my mother. She waved and smiled. “Who are they? Do I know them? They look so familiar.”
    “That’s Alex and Ally. Aunt Millie watches them while their parents are