Read Online Dust and Roses: Book Two of the Dust Trilogy by V.B. Marlowe - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: V.B. Marlowe
Ads: Link
chocolate slowly,
shivering again.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked. “I’ve
never seen you sick until lately.”
He shrugged. “It’s just a cold I can’t
seem to get rid of. Probably all this rain. I’ll be fine.”
“Fletch?”
“Yeah?” He had taken the top off his hot
chocolate and was playing with the marshmallows, trying to make them sink, but
they would pop back up.
“What if I do become a full Wendigo? You
know that means we’d never see each other again.” I couldn’t imagine a life
without him.
He set his cup down and took my hand in
his. They were warm from holding the hot chocolate. “You’re going to beat this.
I know you are. I can feel it.”
I wished I could be as confident in myself
as he was in me. I pulled my hands away from his because his touch was only
torturing me. Fletcher was a Giver with a fondness for Angels but would end up
with a Walker. I didn’t fit into any of that. Even if he decided to go against
the oath and be with whoever he wanted, it wouldn’t be me.
I had other things to worry about other
than Fletcher never being in love with me. Wiley had that horrible video he was
holding over my head. I couldn’t discuss it with Imani because that would give
my secret away. “We never finished talking about Wiley.”
Fletcher rolled his eyes. “What about that
weed head?”
I thumped my fingers against my coffee
cup, wondering if I should continue. “The video. About that night. He actually
liked it. He keeps watching it over and over.”
Fletcher nodded like he wasn’t surprised.
“I’ve told you to stay away from him. Something’s wrong with Wiley. Stay away.
He gives me a bad feeling.”
The last time Fletcher had a bad feeling
about someone, he had been right, but how was I supposed to stay away from
Wiley when he had the power to ruin my life?
“Well, what am I supposed to do about the
video?”
Fletcher slurped the last of his hot
chocolate. “Nothing. He’s not going to show it to anyone. He’s stupid, but he’s
not that stupid. Don’t go thinking you have to do stuff for him just to keep
him quiet. He’s just playing with you.”
I didn’t want to know what Fletcher meant
by “stuff”, but I wasn’t as sure about Wiley as he was. “Okay, I won’t worry
about it,” I lied.
On the way home, I discovered a bigger
problem than Bruce Wiley. Mrs. Nelson, my down-the-street neighbor was sweeping
her front porch. She moved the broom back and forth briskly as she hummed to herself.
Normally, this occurrence wouldn’t have warranted a second look, but that day
it did. Mrs. Nelson was surrounded by a familiar purple haze.
Chapter
Nine
It was time for me to face the facts. For my
sake and for the sake of everyone around me, something had to be done about
Rose. If I were truly on the winning side of the Gemini Curse, the transition
wasn’t happening fast enough. Reality sank in even further when I realized it
wasn’t just me against Rose. It was me against my parent’s true daughter and
Paige and Quinn’s sister. If my family knew I was sucking the life out of Rose,
they would hate me and never forgive me. Mom and Dad knew where Rose was, but
they had never contacted her. They thought it would only complicate things for
her. As far as Paige and Quinn was concerned, she didn’t exist.
Part of me wanted to sacrifice
myself. I could bring Rose to them, let them live happily ever after, and send
myself to the sixth tunnel where the beasts belonged.
My family had made a pact not to keep any
more secrets, to lay everything out on the table. I figured it would be okay to
ask Dad about the Gemini Curse during dinner. It would be the perfect
discussion for Taco Tuesday.
I filled a tortilla shell with
ground turkey. “Dad, the Gemini Curse. Who has the power to cast it?”
Mom cleared her throat, eyeing me as if
she was saying not the time, not the place . Paige and Quinn didn’t even
look up from their plates.
“One group. The
shivering again.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked. “I’ve
never seen you sick until lately.”
He shrugged. “It’s just a cold I can’t
seem to get rid of. Probably all this rain. I’ll be fine.”
“Fletch?”
“Yeah?” He had taken the top off his hot
chocolate and was playing with the marshmallows, trying to make them sink, but
they would pop back up.
“What if I do become a full Wendigo? You
know that means we’d never see each other again.” I couldn’t imagine a life
without him.
He set his cup down and took my hand in
his. They were warm from holding the hot chocolate. “You’re going to beat this.
I know you are. I can feel it.”
I wished I could be as confident in myself
as he was in me. I pulled my hands away from his because his touch was only
torturing me. Fletcher was a Giver with a fondness for Angels but would end up
with a Walker. I didn’t fit into any of that. Even if he decided to go against
the oath and be with whoever he wanted, it wouldn’t be me.
I had other things to worry about other
than Fletcher never being in love with me. Wiley had that horrible video he was
holding over my head. I couldn’t discuss it with Imani because that would give
my secret away. “We never finished talking about Wiley.”
Fletcher rolled his eyes. “What about that
weed head?”
I thumped my fingers against my coffee
cup, wondering if I should continue. “The video. About that night. He actually
liked it. He keeps watching it over and over.”
Fletcher nodded like he wasn’t surprised.
“I’ve told you to stay away from him. Something’s wrong with Wiley. Stay away.
He gives me a bad feeling.”
The last time Fletcher had a bad feeling
about someone, he had been right, but how was I supposed to stay away from
Wiley when he had the power to ruin my life?
“Well, what am I supposed to do about the
video?”
Fletcher slurped the last of his hot
chocolate. “Nothing. He’s not going to show it to anyone. He’s stupid, but he’s
not that stupid. Don’t go thinking you have to do stuff for him just to keep
him quiet. He’s just playing with you.”
I didn’t want to know what Fletcher meant
by “stuff”, but I wasn’t as sure about Wiley as he was. “Okay, I won’t worry
about it,” I lied.
On the way home, I discovered a bigger
problem than Bruce Wiley. Mrs. Nelson, my down-the-street neighbor was sweeping
her front porch. She moved the broom back and forth briskly as she hummed to herself.
Normally, this occurrence wouldn’t have warranted a second look, but that day
it did. Mrs. Nelson was surrounded by a familiar purple haze.
Chapter
Nine
It was time for me to face the facts. For my
sake and for the sake of everyone around me, something had to be done about
Rose. If I were truly on the winning side of the Gemini Curse, the transition
wasn’t happening fast enough. Reality sank in even further when I realized it
wasn’t just me against Rose. It was me against my parent’s true daughter and
Paige and Quinn’s sister. If my family knew I was sucking the life out of Rose,
they would hate me and never forgive me. Mom and Dad knew where Rose was, but
they had never contacted her. They thought it would only complicate things for
her. As far as Paige and Quinn was concerned, she didn’t exist.
Part of me wanted to sacrifice
myself. I could bring Rose to them, let them live happily ever after, and send
myself to the sixth tunnel where the beasts belonged.
My family had made a pact not to keep any
more secrets, to lay everything out on the table. I figured it would be okay to
ask Dad about the Gemini Curse during dinner. It would be the perfect
discussion for Taco Tuesday.
I filled a tortilla shell with
ground turkey. “Dad, the Gemini Curse. Who has the power to cast it?”
Mom cleared her throat, eyeing me as if
she was saying not the time, not the place . Paige and Quinn didn’t even
look up from their plates.
“One group. The
Similar Books
