by W.J. May
Chapter Four
I slept until almost eleven the next morning. Mom was already up, drinking coffee and working on her computer, when I padded downstairs in my bare feet.
“Morning,” I said, pouring some coffee for myself. Normally, I wasn’t a coffee drinker, but I really needed something stronger than orange juice to perk me up. Especially after the last few hours.
“Good morning,” beamed my mother, who was always a morning person no matter how late she stayed up.
“Where’s Nathan?”
“He’s outside by the boat. We were thinking about taking it out on the lake within the hour.”
I yawned. “I’ll eat something and get ready.”
“Good.”
I took a drink of coffee and walked over to a large window facing the lake. The skies were blue and it looked like a beautiful day. Then I thought about the dead girl from last night.
“Um, did you really actually find her in the lake?” I asked. The idea of swimming in the lake when there’d been a floating body in it the night before was harrowing. I seriously doubted that I could even put my foot in the water.
“Why?”
I could tell from her expression that she knew where this was going.
I shrugged. “It’s just kind of gross to think about swimming in it.”
My brother entered the kitchen. “Don’t worry, Nikki, that lake is so freaken big, I’m sure there are plenty of other bodies lost somewhere beneath the surface. People still swim in it all the time.”
I shot him a dirty look. “That’s gross.”
Mom groaned. “Thanks, Nathan. Listen, people drown and it’s just a fact of life. I’m sure every lake has stories of people disappearing in it, including the ones you’ve swam in the past.”
I walked towards the doorway with my coffee. “That doesn’t make it sound any more enticing. I think I’ll just enjoy the view on the lake and try not to think about what’s under it.”
“Just make sure you’re ready to go in an hour!” hollered Nathan as I stepped out of the kitchen. “Or we’re leaving you behind.”