Read Online Coldhearted (9781311888433) by Melanie Matthews - Free Book Online Page B

she did.”
He leaned forward and furrowed his brow. “You said she had no
memory of this event?”
    Edie leaned back, not
wanting to arouse anyone’s suspicion. “Yeah, she didn’t remember
writing it. Just like...” Edie quickly shut her mouth, about to
say, just like me .
    Russell caught it. “What’s wrong, Edie? Just
like what?”
    Edie shook her head, a bit too fast, and got
a head rush. She clamped the heel of her hand against her forehead,
as if she were having an ice cream headache, and massaged it.
    “ Nothing, Russell.” She
lowered her hand. “I’m just…I need to get to class.”
    She shot off her seat, which exacerbated the
pain inside her head, but she managed to stay on her feet, and
turned to leave.
    Over her shoulder, she said, “Thanks for your
concern, but I’m fine, really. See you tomorrow.”
    “ You forgot your notebook,”
he reminded her, as he stood up, holding it in his
possession.
    Edie wanted to snatch it from his hand, but
she remained calm and retrieved it, placing it inside her backpack
for safekeeping. “Thanks.”
    “ Don’t tell anyone but I
plan on having a pop quiz tomorrow on today’s lecture
notes.”
    Edie frowned. “Um…Russell?”
    “ Yeah?”
    “ I kind of…well, I may have
missed some of your lecture.”
    Well, really all of it.
    Russell gave her a smile. “You weren’t paying
attention?” he teased. “I can honestly say I don’t have that
problem with my students. It’s just the opposite, in fact. They pay
too much attention.” He shook his head. “They even notice when I
switch colognes, for crying out loud.”
    Edie giggled. “Yeah, they seem
very…attentive.”
    “ Not you, though,” he said,
staring into her eyes. “Or are you just very good at hiding
it?”
    Edie furrowed her brow. “Hiding what?”
    Russell’s face was changing. It was becoming
darker, masked in shadow, and then he advanced, pursuing her. His
face was no longer his, but of someone who she didn’t recognize,
until a switch flipped, and he looked like his former self
again.
    He took a step back, confused, the shadow
gone. “What were we talking about?”
    “ Uh…the pop quiz tomorrow.”
Edie was surprised that she could even speak after…well…she didn’t
know what she’d seen. “I need the lecture notes, if you have them,”
she went on, hoping to jog his memory.
    “ Oh, yeah, sure,” he said,
remembering.
    He went to his desk, shuffled through some
papers, then came back with a stack, and handed them to Edie. She
pushed them into her notebook.
    “ Make sure I get those
back,” he said in warning. “I wouldn’t want anyone to think I favor
you over the others.”
    “ I understand.”
    Russell and Edie had a secret. She wondered
if they’d have any more.
    “ Well…I think I’ll go
now.”
    “ Remember, Edie, if you ever
want to talk, I’m here for you.”
    Edie just gave him a nod and left. Outside in
the hall, she hugged a wall, and breathed in and out. Before
leaving, she’d been tempted to show Russell the page in her
notebook but had chickened out. What would he think of her? Would
he call her crazy? Would he notify Principal Jennings, Uncle
Landon? What if they hauled her off to some mental hospital?
    Then again, maybe I belong
there .
    She began to think of Grimsby Sanatorium,
where Jules wanted her to go on a ghost hunt. What if she went
there and never came out? What if ghostly nurses and doctors
strapped her down onto a bed, and then injected her with ghostly
needles? She shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest.
    Despite her fears, she felt like she couldn’t
disappoint Jules. And she was mildly curious if there were actual
ghosts about. Yet she hadn’t totally made up her mind. Mason didn’t
want her to go but it had nothing to do with the paranormal
activity that Edie may possibly encounter; it had to do with Edie
being arrested for breaking-and-entering; if indeed Jules and her
Grimsby Paranormal Society friends were going to