Free Betwixt by Melissa Pearl Page A

in my direction. "He's on the way," he whispers.
    Adam lopes over to the car and opens the passenger door.
    Dale opens his door and pretends to fluff around with his bag, giving me time to jump in the back.
    "Thanks," I whisper, still a little sulky.
    He throws his bag in the back with a wink. I can't help smiling.
    I shuffle back in the seat as Adam starts talking again.
    "My mom stole my car."
    Dale laughs. "What?!"
    "Yeah, hers is in the shop getting fixed and she took off with mine for the day. She didn't even offer to swing by and collect me after school. Man, I hate catching the bus. You saved me, bro."
    "Not a problem."
    The car revs to life and Dale swings out of the parking lot.
    I really don't like Dale's car. It's an old Toyota Corolla. A mustard yellow hunk of junk. Adam rolls down the window and we all wince at the high pitched screech.
    "Sorry, man." Dale grins. "Had to save for this baby on my own, so it's... an inbetweener."
    "Nah, it's cool."
    Adam is being very polite. He owns a gorgeous midnight blue mustang that guys drool over and girls want rides in. He got it for his 16th birthday. It was a gift from his rich uncle and apparently his Dad (Sheriff Hutton) totally flipped out. After an epic battle he was allowed to keep the car, but I think the rules are pretty strict. If he ever gets in trouble - which he never does - but if he ever did, the car would be the first thing to go.
    Adam is a really nice guy, but man, he struts like a peacock when he's walking into school each morning.
    I roll my eyes as we bump our way to the Hutton home.
    My phone chirps again and Dale reaches for it.
    He frowns.
    "You know it's really dangerous to read and drive."
    He glances in the rearview mirror and shoots me a dry look. I grin.
    Clearing his throat, Dale drops the phone in his lap and looks at Adam.
    "You voted in the Nicole Poll today?"
    "Nah, man. I'm not into that stuff." Adam looks out the window and clears his throat.
    "Do you know her very well?"
    "What are you doing?" I lean forward.
    Adam shrugs.
    "Yeah, sort of. We used to hang out a little when we were kids."
    "So, what's up with her?
    "What'd you mean?"
    "Come on." Dale smiles. "Was she always like this?"
    "Always like what?"
    "You know, outspoken, irritating..."
    I punch Dale as hard as I can. My fist goes straight through his shoulder, but at least I see him shiver.
    Adam's still looking out the window, but gives a hearty laugh. I throw him the evils.
    "No way." Adam shakes his head and turns back to face his friend. "She used to be awesome. We hung out all the time in middle school. There was this massive group of us and we used to do everything together. Nicole was always really organized and she'd come up with this whacky stuff for us to do."
    I notice Dale's head tip to the side and his eyes narrow slightly. "What happened?"
    "It's none of your business," I whisper sharply.
    "Jody."
    "Who?"
    Adam glances at Dale. "You don't know this story?"
    Dale shakes his head.
    "Jody was Nicole's little sister. She was this cute little blonde kid with a constant smile. Pure sunshine, you know?"
    My heart begins to pound so hard I think it might burst out of my chest. I push my fingers into the middle of my ribcage.
    "Nicole adored her. One day she..." Adam clears his throat.
    Don't say it. Don't tell him, Adam. I want to scream the words aloud, but I know it won't do any good.
    "She fell out of a tree, broke her neck and died."
    My ears start ringing as I slump back into my seat.
    "She was only nine," Adam ended softly.
    "Whoa." Dale's knuckles are white as they grip the wheel. "That explains a lot."
    "Nicole was the one who found her."
    Dale's head jerks to the side. The surprise on his face is unmissable, swiftly followed by sadness. I turn away from it. There's nothing I can say to stop this.
    "She's never been the same since. She went into hiding over the summer and then when she got to high school she started hanging out with..."
    "The wrong kinda