Dare by Hannah Jayne

Author:Hannah Jayne
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2014-06-03T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

Brynna blinked at the screen, feeling her stomach churn. She swallowed, this moment, this life of hers dropping into slow motion as the world went on at a whirring pace around her. Someone was watching her. Someone was haunting her.

Before Erica’s death—just every once in a while—there had been a niggling jealousy that stabbed at the back of her mind. When Erica swished by Brynna in the pool, overtaking her at the last second to win. When Erica mastered a stroke the first time out while Brynna struggled to perfect it. How everyone happily revered and assumed Erica’s first place status and Brynna’s second.

She would always cheers to Erica, sipping her drink while Erica beamed and people complimented her. At first, it was just the fun of the celebration, the party—a little slug of beer to raise or something fruity and red to mask the alcohol taste. Brynna would have a few sips and set the cup aside when the sting of jealousy subsided. But week after week, the sting started to last, and the booze helped to soothe it. But still, she would stop drinking, determined to beat Erica the next time. She knew she could. She knew she deserved it.

Not jealous, Brynna thought. Competitive. Competitive, not murderous.

The last thought rang hollow in her mind. She had a vague memory of something she learned in sophomore biology about how the brain could trigger things—thoughts, desires—and the body could act on them. Afterward, the actions would be expunged from the person’s memory. Lacunar amnesia, Brynna recalled. Selective memory loss.

Suddenly, her mind’s eye was flooded with memories: the sick slap of flesh hitting water. The underwater sound of thrashing. The way Erica’s hair felt—slippery and fine—as it slid through Brynna’s fisted hand. The pale, waxy look of Erica’s skin as her body floated downward into the depths of the Pacific Ocean, so calm, so peaceful, her slightly parted lips, and eyes, wide open, staring at Brynna with the moonlight reflected in them.

How would I know what Erica’s hair felt like? How would I know what she looked like? I have this image of her—Brynna closed her eyes, trying to stamp the ghastly image out—where did it come from?

Heat surged up the back of Brynna’s neck, and she was racing through the room, clawing her way to the bathroom. She doubled over and vomited, tears and sweat commingling and dripping from her chin as she heaved.

The images in her head came from her dreams, because once Erica hit the water, Brynna couldn’t see her anymore. Could she? She fell against the wall, her back sliding until she landed on her butt with a hard thump. She could feel the cold tile shoot a chill up her spine as she thought about the dreams where Erica was floating down below her. Was it a dream or a deeply hidden memory suddenly shaking loose? Brynna pushed up to her knees and vomited again.

At some point, Brynna’s mother rushed through the bedroom door and fawned over her, coaxing her into her pajamas and tucking her into bed.

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