All-Night Party Read Free Page A

her body grow tense.
    â€œI didn’t invite him,” she answered sharply.
    â€œHow come?” Cindy pouted. “I like Marco. He’s so cute.”
    â€œI’m trying to give him a hint,” Gretchen explained. “Maybe if he finds out he wasn’t invited to your party, we’ll be history. Then she added, “If you want him, Cindy, he’s all yours.”
    â€œI’m sorry you guys are breaking up. I thought everything was going great,” Cindy said.
    Gretchen dug her cold hands deeper into her pockets. “Not anymore.”
    She stared out at the black water. She didn’t feel like talking about Marco Hughes anymore.
    Couldn’t Cindy take a hint?
    Sure, Gretchen and Marco seemed to be doing okay. Marco was totally different from the guys Gretchen usually went out with. There was something dangerous about him, and Gretchen had been instantly attracted.
    With his long, black hair and silver hoop earring, not to mention the motorcycle he rode, Marco was a rebel. And they really had fun.
    At first.
    But as the weeks went by, she realized he was too wild. He didn’t care about rules. He didn’t care about schoolwork or grades or other people.
    And he had a terrible temper.
    Everything had to be done his way. Or else. The littlest thing could send Marco into a rage.
    Gretchen didn’t like admitting it to herself, but she was a little bit afraid of Marco. She’d been trying to break up with him for weeks.
    She even suggested that they see other people. But he wasn’t getting the message.
    â€œCan we not talk about Marco tonight?” Gretchen begged. “I want to have a good time.”
    â€œI won’t mention his name again,” Cindy promised. She made an X over her heart. “Cross my heart.”
    â€œHope to die,” Gretchen and Hannah finished together.
    â€œThere’s the island!” Jackson announced.
    When the boat neared the dock, Jackson hopped out and tied it up. Hannah climbed out next and gave Gretchen a hand. Then Gil and Patrick helped Cindy.
    Standing on the dock, Gretchen listened to the slap of the waves against the wood pilings and the wind in the trees. She saw big gray boulders on the shoreline, and beyond them, a thick mist floated over the dark woods.
    Gil clicked on a flashlight and led the way to a rockstrewn path in the woods. The path that led to his grandfather’s cabin.
    As she trudged along the rough path, Gretchen thought about the decorations in the cabin that she and Hannah had worked so hard on.
    They had rowed over by themselves that afternoon to decorate the cabin and bake Cindy’s birthday cake. Gretchen felt especially pleased with all the candles they’d arranged in the front room.
    Then she remembered. She was supposed to run ahead and light the candles before the others came in. The cabin would look really awesome.
    She hurried ahead of her friends and raced up the path into the dark, misty woods.
    Behind her, someone called her name. “Gretchen! Wait up! Do you want me to walk with you?”
    Jackson!
    Walk alone in the woods with him? No way! The thought creeped her out.
    â€œNo thanks,” she called back. “I can go faster by myself.”
    Gretchen ducked her head and kept moving.
    The path grew steep. She gasped for breath and slowed her pace.
    She heard the wind howl through the trees and saw the long bare branches above her tossing from side to side.
    Dead leaves swirled along the ground. She blinked as fat raindrops splattered on her face and hair. They’d made it to the island just in time.
    Gretchen spotted the cabin and ran up the wooden front steps to the covered porch. She took a deep breath. Made it.
    But as she reached for the doorknob she heard a creaking sound. Something moved in the shadows on the porch.
    She turned to the side and saw the two empty rocking chairs swaying to and fro. Invisible party crashers?
    â€œNo ghosts. Just the wind,”