Read Online Come What May (Heartbeat) by Faith Sullivan - Free Book Online

to pick a fight with him.
    “I’m not parked on the street. My car is in the lot at school. I had a morning class so I just left it there.” Oh man, that’s like ten blocks away. We’re in for quite a hike.
    “Well, lead the way.” He closes the distance separating us and we resume walking side by side.
    “There are a lot of stars out tonight.” He’s looking up at the sky when he should be watching where he’s going. All he needs to do is trip and fall on the uneven sidewalk.
    “Yeah, I guess.” I’m not in the mood to banter with him.
    “What’s the matter with you?” I can’t believe he has the nerve to ask me that.
    “You did see me shoot a man today, right?” He really is out of his fucking mind. He has no sensitivity for my feelings at all. He’s too wrapped up in himself.
    “He’s going to be all right, you know. That’s what one of the nurses told me back at the hospital. They were able to remove the bullet and patch him up.” I don’t like how he sounds relieved. Like this is a good thing.
    “Excuse me if I don’t jump for joy.” My thoughts fly to Lizzie. Her mother’s dead, and her father will most likely spend the rest of his life in jail. Being from a fancy neighborhood isn’t going to save her now.
    “Jada, it would’ve been a lot worse for you if he died.” He steps in front of me, blocking my path.
    “Don’t you think I know that?” He’s unbelievable. Treating me like I’m some kind of idiot.
    “Trust me, you don’t want anyone’s blood on your hands.” He’s staring down at me with such intensity. I want to look away, but I can’t. We survived this together. We made it through a terrible situation. And regardless of how I feel about his personal life, we share a bond. Just being in his presence right now is helping me deal with the emotions swirling inside. And if I’m being completely honest, no phone call with Jason would have done that for me.
    “You’re right.” I’m tired of arguing with him. We worked as a team today. We were pinned down and we battled back. The least we can do is try to get along with each other.
    “What was that?” He bends down, placing his ear in front of my face.
    “You’re right!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
    “Man, I wish I could make that my ringtone.” He straightens up, chuckling under his breath.
    “You wish.” I like it when he’s playful, as long as he doesn’t think he has the upper hand. I can’t deal with any of his superiority bullshit.
    “From the outside, you’d think a couple like Lizzie’s parents would have it all figured out.” He surprises me by turning serious even though he’s echoing my thoughts exactly.
    “That whole neighborhood freaked me out. It’s too perfect. If that’s what it takes to make it in this world, I’d rather not.” The sheer willingness of Lizzie’s mom to adapt to such terrible living conditions sickens me. The neighbors obviously knew what was going on, but no one reached out to help her before it was too late. She couldn’t escape for herself or her daughter and she paid the ultimate price.
    “Conformity is comfortable. It doesn’t cause waves or force you to stick out. When it comes to survival, sometimes it’s all about fitting in.” He’s actually talking about this like a rational human being. I have to say I’m impressed.
    “But was it worth it? She lost her life and he obviously moved on to the daughter. She should’ve taken that kid and got the hell out of there.” I’m not one to judge people, but this tragedy didn’t have to happen.
    “Maybe she didn’t have anywhere to go. When you’re faced with fleeing your home with no money and a crazy husband hunting you down, the decision’s not that easy.” His reasoning is sound, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
    “But I bet if you gave her a second chance to do things over, she wouldn’t hesitate to leave him. Nobody ever thinks things will get that bad until they do.” And as