Read Online Chasing Thunder by Ginger Voight - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ginger Voight
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was dark red brick, but the cabinets and the surfaces were stark white. Snake stopped at the fridge to grab a couple of beers and a bottle of juice. He started to hand Baby a beer, but switched it last minute with a smile. She laughed. M.J. shook her head and gave a wry smile of her own as she accepted one of the beers. They all walked into the homey, darkened living room, which was complete with a brick fireplace in the corner.
The only source of illumination was a mounted flat-screen TV that took up most of one wall. Sitting in a gamer seat directly in front of it was a younger man who couldn’t have been more than eighteen. A gray knit cap tried to contain unruly dark hair that fell past the nape of his neck. He wore a black hoodie and well-worn jeans, and dirty black-and-white hi-top sneakers.
Unlike Snake’s rugged look with the beard and mustache, this younger man’s baby face was hairless and beautiful, masculine and feminine at the same time. He had a strong, square jaw, smooth skin, and lovely dark eyes framed by full, dark lashes. He peered out from behind black-rimmed glasses as he destroyed an alien scourge, totally absorbed in the action on the screen. He didn’t even turn his head to see who was in the room.
“And this party animal is my little brother, Logan, otherwise known as Kid, a master gamer and computer hacker extraordinaire,” said Snake. To his brother, who was still preoccupied with the game, he said, “We got company, man.”
With a slight roll of his eyes, Kid paused his game to turn around. He couldn’t understand why Snake had interrupted his perfect game where he was racking up a killer high score. M.J. had been in and out of their house for years like a ninja. She was there for a while and gone for even longer, but even still she had been a mainstay in his life since he was four years old. It wasn’t like it was big news when she came around.
But then M.J. stepped out of the way and he spotted Baby. She was dirty and bruised, but she was still the prettiest girl he had ever seen, with her platinum hair and eyes so blue they looked just like the sky on a perfect, cloudless day.
For some reason he couldn’t explain, this stranger instantly reminded him of the day his mother died. He had taken his mom six flawless white roses, but one had fallen into the mud as they sat by her graveside that rainy winter morning. He had spent the entire ceremony both hating and loving that tiny rosebud as it grew dirtier and more ragged, wilting right before his eyes. It was both the most pitiful and most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he had been transfixed.
This girl reminded him of that rosebud. She was soft and perfect inside, but she wore her damages outside. They only made her more beautiful.
He quickly put his controller away to stand and greet her properly. He even took off his beanie and smoothed his hair as Snake made the introductions. “Kid, this is Baby.”
“Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey,” she responded with a shy smile.
Snake glanced at M.J. “One day, when they record this auspicious meeting, its lyrical poetry will be the envy of the civilized world.”
M.J. chuckled. She tapped Baby’s arm with her finger. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can clean up.”
Instantly Baby was reminded of cleaning herself for her last host. Her stomach dropped but she followed the strange redhead without argument. There were prices to be paid for kindnesses in this new world. Only God knew what she owed this woman for saving her life.
For what, exactly, had she been saved?
M.J. led her to a cheerful bedroom that was warm, traditional, and inviting, without one piece of art invoking the occult. The full-size bed was made of unfinished pine, and the beautiful handmade quilt lent a splash of color to the otherwise ordinary room, courtesy of its red, white, and blue star design. A healthy ivy sprawled from the tall chest of drawers in the corner. Pictures lined the top of the chest,
The only source of illumination was a mounted flat-screen TV that took up most of one wall. Sitting in a gamer seat directly in front of it was a younger man who couldn’t have been more than eighteen. A gray knit cap tried to contain unruly dark hair that fell past the nape of his neck. He wore a black hoodie and well-worn jeans, and dirty black-and-white hi-top sneakers.
Unlike Snake’s rugged look with the beard and mustache, this younger man’s baby face was hairless and beautiful, masculine and feminine at the same time. He had a strong, square jaw, smooth skin, and lovely dark eyes framed by full, dark lashes. He peered out from behind black-rimmed glasses as he destroyed an alien scourge, totally absorbed in the action on the screen. He didn’t even turn his head to see who was in the room.
“And this party animal is my little brother, Logan, otherwise known as Kid, a master gamer and computer hacker extraordinaire,” said Snake. To his brother, who was still preoccupied with the game, he said, “We got company, man.”
With a slight roll of his eyes, Kid paused his game to turn around. He couldn’t understand why Snake had interrupted his perfect game where he was racking up a killer high score. M.J. had been in and out of their house for years like a ninja. She was there for a while and gone for even longer, but even still she had been a mainstay in his life since he was four years old. It wasn’t like it was big news when she came around.
But then M.J. stepped out of the way and he spotted Baby. She was dirty and bruised, but she was still the prettiest girl he had ever seen, with her platinum hair and eyes so blue they looked just like the sky on a perfect, cloudless day.
For some reason he couldn’t explain, this stranger instantly reminded him of the day his mother died. He had taken his mom six flawless white roses, but one had fallen into the mud as they sat by her graveside that rainy winter morning. He had spent the entire ceremony both hating and loving that tiny rosebud as it grew dirtier and more ragged, wilting right before his eyes. It was both the most pitiful and most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he had been transfixed.
This girl reminded him of that rosebud. She was soft and perfect inside, but she wore her damages outside. They only made her more beautiful.
He quickly put his controller away to stand and greet her properly. He even took off his beanie and smoothed his hair as Snake made the introductions. “Kid, this is Baby.”
“Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey,” she responded with a shy smile.
Snake glanced at M.J. “One day, when they record this auspicious meeting, its lyrical poetry will be the envy of the civilized world.”
M.J. chuckled. She tapped Baby’s arm with her finger. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can clean up.”
Instantly Baby was reminded of cleaning herself for her last host. Her stomach dropped but she followed the strange redhead without argument. There were prices to be paid for kindnesses in this new world. Only God knew what she owed this woman for saving her life.
For what, exactly, had she been saved?
M.J. led her to a cheerful bedroom that was warm, traditional, and inviting, without one piece of art invoking the occult. The full-size bed was made of unfinished pine, and the beautiful handmade quilt lent a splash of color to the otherwise ordinary room, courtesy of its red, white, and blue star design. A healthy ivy sprawled from the tall chest of drawers in the corner. Pictures lined the top of the chest,
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