Read Online The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen - Free Book Online

on.
    Her hand in my mine was soft and warm. Her nails were medium length, nicely clipped. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that partway down, each white tip had a line of a different color white, like a tree has rings. I’d seen that once before, on my mom’s nails when she got really sick with a virus. That white line was an indicator to me that in the recent past, this girl had suffered something physically traumatic. I wondered if it had anything to do with the scars on her legs.
    I met her gaze. There was so much more I wanted to ask her, but she looked exhausted. So I said, “You should really try and sleep more.”
    She blinked a few times, then lay back, still holding my hand. “Will you stay?”
    “Do you want me to?”
    “Yes.” And she shut her eyes.
    I leaned forward to turn out the light, but her eyes popped open and she squeezed my hand. “Leave it on. I don’t like the dark.”
    “Okay.” Still holding her hand, I slipped down onto the floor and laid my head on the bed, just looking at her profile. Her grip was still strong. I’d never held a girl’s hand before.
    Part of me was jumping up and down happy that somehow I could make this strange lovely girl feel protected. But I didn’t know if I was her protector or her kidnapper. Was her story about the place before the Haven true? Did anyone else know? Part of me wanted to call my mom, make her tell me everything she knew about the girl.
    But another part didn’t want to know any more. As long as I was a little ignorant of reality, I could enjoy the present moment. As soon as reality infringed on that, even one fact about who she was or who might be looking for her or how much trouble I was in, my little fantasy moment would shatter. Maybe there was a connection between this girl and TroDyn, or maybe Jack and I were being paranoid. In the morning, we’d take her back and that would be it.
    Her hand pulled on mine. “You can sleep up here.”
    I didn’t argue.
    Sliding up on the bed, I kept one foot on the floor. But then she slid over and patted the space beside her. Still under the covers, she rolled away from me but pulled my hand with her, so that I ended up curled against her back, the bulky covers between us, one of my arms around her and the other arm under my head. Leaning forward just slightly, my face was in her hair and I inhaled. I asked, “Did you remember your name?”
    She didn’t answer at first. Then I felt her shake her head no. “Does it matter?”
    “No,” I lied.
    Soon her breathing slowed and steadied itself. My eyes shut, but there was no way I would be able to sleep, lying so close to her. Still, I wouldn’t want to miss a moment of it. I wished I knew her name.
    When Jack woke me up, I was facing away from her, my head on the edge of the bed, my face in drool.
    He raised one thumb and both eyebrows.
    I flipped him off.
    Quickly, I sat up and wiped my face on my sleeve. The girl was still asleep.
    In the kitchen, there was a fresh pot of coffee. I poured myself a cup and joined Jack at the table.
    He had a huge grin on his face. “Dude!”
    “Shut up, Jack. She just wanted me to sleep with her.” I scrunched my eyes shut as I realized how that sounded.
    He whistled.
    “No, just sleep. Believe me.” I squinted at the clock on the stove, but the digital numbers blurred. “What time is it?”
    Jack yawned. “About nine.”
    I stirred in some powdered creamer and asked, “Why
did
you interrupt my perfect moment, anyway?”
    “I was lonely.” Jack grinned. “No, I’m gonna run to the gas station for some juice and donuts. Then we probably should get her back.” He played catch with his keys on his way to the door.
    “Get some real cream, too,” I called after him. Taking my coffee with white creamer clumps into the living room, I stretched out on the couch and grabbed the remote. The satellite showed about a billion channels, but it seemed like the only things on at that hour were cartoons, infomercials,