Read Online Charisma by Jeanne Ryan - Free Book Online Page A

the last minute, her face pale. How odd. I’ve never seen her as anything but subdued. Suspicion darts through my brain. I check her arm for a bandage, but, like me, her shirt sleeves cover any evidence.
    Joe calls the meeting to order. “Excellent work on the beach, you guys! What was your favorite part?”
    Hands go up to mention the water, the hunt, the sunshine, blah, blah, blah. Prerequisite icebreaker over, Joe dives into therapy territory. “Anyone have something they’d like to share since our last meeting?”
    We blink at each other in uncomfortable silence until a girl named Kiera speaks up. Since our last meeting, she’s dyed the bottom few inches of her red hair gold, making it look like her head’s on fire. She grumbles about how her parents devote most of their attention to her brother Jacob, who has the gene for Huntington’s.
    This prompts Joe to ask the rest of us if we’re jealous of the attention our parents shower on our siblings. I don’t care that Mom dotes on Sammy. So do I.
    A familiar sensation clenches my belly at the prospect of speaking in front of a group. Guess the Charisma hasn’t kicked in yet. Chloe better keep her word. One kid after the next rattles on about how awful it is to be ignored by the world whenever their brothers or sisters are around. What babies.
    When it’s Shane’s turn, he stretches his long legs out in front of him. “I don’t mind when my sister gets attention.”
    Joe raises his bushy eyebrows. “Really? Be honest. You’re among friends.”
    Shane smirks. “Yeah? Well, when people notice her, they also notice me helping her. You know how much action I get from girls who think I’m a saint?” The guy next to Shane gives him a high five.
    Joe frowns. “So you use your sister’s affliction to pick up girls?”
    â€œWhy not? Win-win.” He glances my way without smiling. My eyes go to the ceiling.
    Joe rubs his chin. “Well, I guess there’s no reason not to find the silver lining in your situations. As long as you aren’t exploiting anyone.”
    Shane grins. “Works great for an exit strategy too. When I get bored, I can pretend to be so concerned about my sister that I can’t devote time to a
rela
tionship
.”
    A couple of guys snicker along with him. The rest of us sit with our jaws hanging.
    Joe glances around the group. “What do the rest of you think about that?” His gaze stops on me. “Aislyn, tell us the first thing that comes to mind.”
    I blurt, “Douchebag.” Oh my God, did I just say that?
    The group laughs, except Shane. Joe claps until we quiet down.
    He says, “Well, thanks for your candor, Aislyn and Shane. Is there anyone else who’d like to share?”
    Chloe raises her hand. And, true to her word, she launches into a long-winded story about how much she loves Bailey but feels belittled when their parents devote so much energy to her. Even though I know it’s a bunch of BS, I find her tale drawing me in. Every eye on the room is glued to her. She babbles on until it’s time to meet in the ballroom for the next event.
    Chloe skips next to me as we herd out. “That worked pretty great, huh?”
    Yeah, great. But all I can think about is the treatment making its way through my system, attacking innocent cells and doing who knows what. Was my insult to Shane the first change in my personality? What if I’m unable to control future outbursts? Maybe that’s all being an extrovert is, the lack of impulse control. Never thought of it that way. But if the Charisma has already caused me to act this far out of character, what else am I in for?

Back in the ballroom, Sammy’s eyelids droop, but he’s less flushed than earlier. “The doc put me on a nebulizer. No biggie.”
    Mom has an arm around his shoulder. “We should go.”
    Sammy doesn’t argue, which is all