Read Online Dark Angel; The Chosen; Soulmate by L.J. Smith - Free Book Online

total fool; her facade wasn’t broken.
    â€œI’m not that kind of guy. I mean, it looks like I am, righthere, it looks exactly like I am. But I’m
not
. I mean I never—I’m not like Bruce Faber. I don’t do that. I made a promise to Tanya and…”
    Oh, God, Gillian thought. And then a sort of inward scream: (Help!)
    (I was wondering when you’d remember me.)
    (He made her a promise!)
    (I’m sure he did. They’ve been going together a while.)
    (But that’s
terrible
!)
    (No, it’s admirable. What a guy. Now say you’ve got to get to school.)
    (I can’t. I can’t
think
. How are we going to—)
    (School first.)
    Dully, Gillian said, “I guess we’d better get moving.”
    â€œYeah.” There was a pause, and then David put the car in gear.
    They drove in silence, and Gillian sank deeper and deeper into depression. She’d thought it would be so easy—just show David her new self and everything would fall into place. But it wasn’t like that. He couldn’t just dump Tanya.
    (Don’t worry about it, kid. I have a cunning plan.)
    (But
what
?)
    (I’ll tell you when it’s time.)
    (Angel—are you
mad
at me? Because I forgot about you?)
    (Of course not. I’m here to arrange things so you can forget me.)
    (Then—because I forgot about Tanya for a while? I don’t want to do anything that’s wrong….)
    (I’m not mad! Heads up. You’re there.)
    Gillian couldn’t push away the feeling that he
was
mad, though. Or at least surprised. As if something unexpected had happened.
    But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She had to get out of David’s car and gather herself and face the high school.
    â€œI guess—I’ll see you later,” David said as she reached for the door handle. His voice made it a question.
    â€œYeah. Later,” Gillian said. She didn’t have the energy for anything more. She glanced back—once—to see him staring at the steering wheel.
    She could see people staring at
her
as she walked to the school building. It was a new sensation and it gave her a spasm of anxiety.
    Were they laughing at her? Did she look silly, was she walking
wrong
somehow?
    (Just breathe and walk.) Angel’s voice sounded amused. (Breathe—walk—head up—breathe….)
    Gillian somehow got through halls and up stairs to her U.S. history class without meeting another student’s eyes once.
    There, arriving just as the bell rang, she realized she had a problem. Her history textbook, along with all her notes, was floating somewhere down toward West Virginia.
    With relief, she caught Amy’s eye and headed toward the back of the classroom.
    â€œCan I share your book? My whole backpack went in the creek.” She was a little afraid Amy might be miffed or jealous at the way she’d run off with David, but Amy didn’t seem to be either. She seemed more—awed—as if Gillian were some force like a tornado that you might fear, but that you couldn’t get mad at.
    â€œSure.” Amy waited until Gillian had scooted her desk closer, then whispered, “How come it took you so long to get to school? What were you and David
doing
?”
    Gillian rummaged for a pen. “How do you know we weren’t picking up Tanya?”
    â€œBecause Tanya was here at school looking for
David
.”
    Gillian’s heart flip-flopped. She pretended to be very interested in history.
    But she gradually noticed that some of the other students were looking at her. Especially the boys. It was the sort of look she’d never imagined getting from a boy.
    But these were all juniors, and none of them was in the really popular clique. All that would change in Gillian’s next class, biology. Half a dozen of the most popular kids would be there. David would be there—and Tanya.
    Gillian felt, with a sudden chill, that she might not really care