Read Online Fall From Love by Heather London - Free Book Online Page B

forces me to face things that I want to bury forever. I
know that in order to get on with my life, though, I am going to have to face
those memories… and that means facing him.

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
    A friend is someone who knows all about you and still
loves you.
    ~ Elbert Hubbard
     
    CARTER
    “Damn, dude. What did that calculator
ever do to you?” Josh asks, walking into the kitchen.
    I ignore him and
continue to punch numbers, frustrated that I’ve been working on the same
problem for an hour and still can’t get it right.
    “Okay, I get it.
You’re in one of your moods.” He grabs a bowl from the cabinet and pours
himself some cereal. “So, I’ll talk and you can just listen, or ignore me, or
whatever it is you do when you get like this.”
    Shaking my head, I
try to drown out his words. He may hate it when I get quiet and retreat inward,
but I hate it even more when he gets chatty in the mornings like a girl.
    “So, I’ve been
thinking,” he begins. “We need to invite Jenna and Holly over for dinner
sometime. We can hang out and everyone can get to know each other a little
better. What do you think?” He’s leaning against the counter, facing me,
awaiting my response.
    I glance up to see
him stuff a spoonful of cereal into his mouth and watch a trail of milk dribble
down his chin. After making a revolting expression, I shake my head and glance
back towards my book. For one thing, he’s living in a fantasy world. Jenna
hates me and has barely spoken more than a few words to me over the last few
months except when she threatened my life if I ever tried to contact Holly.
Also, Holly, the girl could barely stand to breathe in my direction without
looking like she is in some kind of pain. Inviting them over for dinner and
pretending that everyone likes each other doesn’t sound like the best idea.
    It has been two
weeks since I saw Holly in the garage and I never called her for coffee. Every
time I pick up the phone, I panic and hang up. I’m not even sure why. I wish I
had a better excuse, like I don’t have her number or something, but that isn’t
the case. I’ve actually had her number for months.
    One day when Jenna
was over, I saw her phone lying on the kitchen counter. I could hear her
giggling upstairs in Josh’s bedroom so I knew she wouldn’t be coming down
anytime soon and see me going through her phone, looking for Holly’s number.
    When I don’t
respond to Josh’s proposal, he slides into the seat across from me and chews
loudly, annoying the crap out of me. I’m not angry at him. I’m angry with
myself; angry that I am too scared to make a stupid phone call, but no matter
what, I’m still not in the mood to deal with him. I slam my textbook shut and
reach over for my backpack.
    “Okay, it was just
a suggestion, man. No need to get angry.” Josh sighs and his spoon falls
against the bowl, making a clanking noise. “I just want you and Jenna to get
along better. I can’t have my best friend and my girlfriend not liking each
other. It makes me feel like I have to choose between the two of you. Besides,
I actually think that the two of you would get along great… that the four of us
would get along. Now that you and Holly have talked a little and Jenna doesn’t
want to castrate you because of it, I think we could have something beautiful
here.”
    Did I mention how
much I hate him when he gets chatty? Life’s not a Hallmark card, but he’s never
been able to understand that. He still has his family all intact. He doesn’t
know what it’s like to have your life unravel at an uncontrollable speed. He
doesn’t get what it feels like to have people look at you like you should be
the one that died that night on the mountain, like you shouldn’t be the one
alive right now. I’m shoving my shit into my backpack as fast as possible,
wanting to get out of here so I don’t have to listen to him whine anymore about
how everything’s not sunshine and rainbows. What does it