Read Online Earth Blend by Lori Pescatore - Free Book Online Page A

felt his anger growing.
    “ Pretending? I never pretended. I took
care of you like you were my own. I love you like you are my own
flesh and blood. How can you talk to me like that?”
    Austin suddenly grabbed his head in pain.
“Just shut up.” He winced at the sound of his own voice. A loud
clap of thunder could be heard outside the building. “I gotta get
out of here.” He said and stumbled out of the office. He had an
overwhelming need to get outside of the building. He looked toward
the front of the store and locked eyes with Julie.
     
    Julie had heard the loud clap of thunder and
thought about stepping inside the Laundromat, knowing the
spontaneous nature of the weather. Looking back inside she saw
Austin stumble near the back of the Laundromat. She saw a look of
panic in his eyes and rushed inside. “Austin! What's wrong?”
    “ I gotta get out of here.” Austin ran
out the door with Julie quickly on his heels.
    “ Austin! Wait!” Julie called after him
but he broke out into a full out run down the street.
    The wind picked up and the clouds were
moving in quickly. The sky looked threatening as thunder
rumbled.
    “ Crap.” She took off running after
Austin. She watched as he ran into Hungry Mother Park. She lost
sight of him as he disappeared into the forest. “Austin!” She heard
a painful groan. It was almost drowned out by the howling wind as
it vibrated through the trees. “Austin!”
    “ My head!”
    She heard Austin's voice. He was close by.
After stumbling a few more feet, she found him. He was sitting on
the ground. A whirlwind of debris was swirling around him.
    “ Make it stop.” He was still holding
his head as his eyes looked pleadingly at her.
    She ran through the dirt devil and wrapped
her arms around him and did her best to shield them both. The
scenario reminded her of the time in the woods when Luke was trying
to kidnap them. Eli and his Earthling friends created a dust storm
similar to this. “Stop it now!” She yelled but the wind only
intensified. There was only one Earthling that she knew of that
would be so devilish. “Percone, that's enough!” At that moment, all
wind ceased.
    “ Who's Percone?” Austin asked
her.
    She looked at him. He was no longer holding
his head. “Are you okay?”
    “ Yes, I'm fine... I think. Who's
Percone?”
    “ Percone is an Earthling, like Eli. I
met him when we were at Uncle G's place.”
    “ You think he was doing
this?”
    “ It's possible. Can you
stand?”
    “ Yes, I think so.” He stood carefully.
“I feel okay.”
    “ What happened back there?”
    “ All I know is I was talking with my
step-mom and I suddenly felt... weird. I don't know. I panicked and
just needed air.”
    “ But you feel okay now?” Julie asked,
rubbing his arms.
    “ Yes. Hungry though.” He
laughed.
    “ Let's get you something to eat.” She
wanted to ask him more about his conversation with his mother but
decided to wait.
    They walked out of the park, arms around
each other.
    When back in town, Austin stopped at a
hotdog vendor. He ordered four hotdogs with all the toppings. Julie
kept quiet. She felt he was still in processing mode.
    Sitting down together on a nearby bench,
Austin handed her two of the hot-dogs. “One thing I noticed, there
is not any food I dislike. I actually used to be quite picky about
food but now, there isn't much I would turn away.”
    Julie nodded in agreement. “There isn't
anything edible that I dislike either.” She blotted her lips with a
napkin. “So, um. Do you want to talk about how things went with
your mom?”
    “ Maybe later. It's still unfolding.”
He stood and threw away their trash in a nearby
receptacle.
    “ How did your job hunting
go?”
    With the craziness of the last hour, she had
almost forgotten. “I got a job, I think... at the cafe were Cindy
used to work.”
    “ The one we went to?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Have you... I mean... you don't
really have any experience, do you?”
    “ No, and I told Dave