Smashed Read Free

frog, so what does he know?”
    Alec’s head bobbed, his eyes scanning the trees on the far side of the lake.
    “You ever swim across?” he asked.
    “Sure. All the time.”
    “Let’s go,” he said, and started swimming before I could reply.
    Sitting in the shallow water on the other side, Alec stretched his arms up toward the sky, then sat back. “Nice swim,” he said. “It’d be tough getting across the lake in Deerfield. It’s, like, three miles wide. This is like having your own private beach.” He gazed down the long lake, then turned back to me. “So, where do you live?”
    “Not too far. Caton Road. It’s just past the store, a mile or so from here.”
    Alec nodded, like he knew where I meant. “We built a new house a couple miles from school, in Deerfield. It’s a new development. My stepmother’s dream house, supposedly. She’s got her pool now, but who wants to swim in chlorine with all these lakes around? All she does in the summer is sit by that pool and tell me what to do.”
    “You don’t sound like you like her very much.”
    “She’s a bitch,” he said.
    I looked away. It was a harsh word to describe your mother, step or not.
    “Where does your real mother live?”
    “She’s dead.”
    Across the lake, little kids screeched and splashed each other, their voices carrying across the smooth surface of the water. What should I say? What could I say?
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It was a long time ago,” he said. “I was four.”
    “I’m really sorry,” I said again. “Losing a parent—that’s . . . it’s awful.” My voice faded to a whisper. “It’s the worst.”
    I should know, I thought, and a familiar feeling gripped me, a fist clenched tight in my gut. For a moment, the lake—everything around me—disappeared. I was free-falling into a gaping dark space where nothing lived, a hollow place that nothing could fill.
    My father had pulled his truck out of our driveway five years before, after a fight with my mother, and vanished. There had been one card, on my brother’s birthday, then nothing. Nothing. I didn’t know if he was dead, but sometimes believing he was beat the alternative—that he hated us enough to leave and never look back.
    “Ever go out to that island?” Alec asked.
    “What?” I blinked and looked where Alec was pointing.
    Off to our right the land opened and the water spread out a mile wide. In the middle, a small, tree-covered island rose up, an oasis of green in the deep blue water.
    “Yeah,” I said. “Matt likes to shoot pictures out there.”
    “Sounds nice.” Alec caught my eye and held it. My face flushed and I glanced down quickly. The memory of Alec looking up the lake road at me the day before zipped through my mind and disappeared.
    “Your dad took off, didn’t he?” Alec said.
    I nodded, then turned away, silent. You don’t have to open your mouth in a small town. Everybody knows everything about you, anyway.
    When I turned back, he studied my face. “I thought I heard that,” he said. “That sucks.”
    For moment, our eyes met.
    “Let’s go back,” I said, and dove into the water.
    *     *     *
    Emerging from the lake, Alec not far behind, I spotted Matt through the trees. Leaning against his skateboard, he stood glaring at Alec.
    “Matt!” I called.
    “Hey, Matt,” Alec said, shaking water from his hair. “Nice board.”
    Matt didn’t reply. For an instant no one spoke.
    “You got back early,” I said. “Want to go swimming?”
    Matt looked at Alec, then back at me. Silence.
    “Want to go for a swim or what ?” I asked him again.
    “I’ve got a lawn to do,” Alec said. “I’ll see you later.” He walked toward the spot where his backpack sat next to mine on the beach.
    “See you,” I said.
    Alec had hopped the fence and reached his truck before Matt spoke. “What the hell was that ?”
    “Yeah, what the hell was that?” I said.
    “ You don’t like him either. Or, you didn’t last time I