Read Online Gravity, a young adult paranormal romance by Abigail Boyd - Free Book Online Page B

didn't seem so twitchy now that she was away from her
house and her mom.  
    "I didn't know you had gym this hour,"
I said. I didn't remember seeing her yesterday or the day
before.
    "Well, I got to miss the first few
days because of my ankle," she said, pulling her leg up and
gesturing. "I could have sat out today in study hall, too, but I
figured I had milked it enough." She leaned in and admitted, "My
ankle's been fine for a week."
    I was curious as to how she had gotten
hurt in the first place, but I didn't want to pry.
    "Plus, I had to avoid that fitness
test," she continued. "Fitness is the one test I know I would fail.
I run at top speeds of two seconds an hour."
    "You can't be that bad," I
protested.
    "Oh, I can," she said chuckling. "And
the less that they know about my lack of athletic skill here at
cheerleader camp, the better."
    "Good idea," I agreed.
    It was comforting talking
to someone I actually could talk to. I no longer felt like a target, dodging
around and waiting to get hit. Gym class became no more pleasant,
but at least it wasn't dreadful anymore.   
    At lunch, I sat with my old
acquaintances again. I even interjected into the conversation a bit
at first, discussing some news I had caught on TV that morning.
Being around Theo had bolstered my confidence a little. But the
girls were all making plans to go on shopping in Ann Arbor that
weekend, and they didn't invite me. Just when I finally started to
find normal. I withdrew behind my backpack again. It was quickly
evolving into a protective shield. 
    After English class, I went to my
locker to drop off my books and take the ones I needed for
homework. As I was headed to art, a crowd of people blocked the
hallway in front of me, preventing me from going past. I peered
around to see what the fuss was about.
    Ambrose Slaughter had pinned another
boy up against the wall by his shirt collar. I groaned. I knew he
had been keeping too low of a profile. Last year, Ambrose bloodied
more than one kid's nose in the first month, and he never seemed to
get in trouble. Mostly due to the fact that his father owned all
three of the car dealerships in town.
    A junior, Ambrose was tall even for
seventeen. Leather tanned, with gelled golden hair and blue eyes,
he looked like a demented cherub. He slammed the other boy up
against the wall again. I could practically hear his teeth rattle
from where I stood. The boy was puny, and looked like a
freshman.
    "Are you deaf? Do you have a listening
problem?" Ambrose barked.
    He wrenched the other boy's shirt, and
the sleeve tore with a loud rip. Fat tears rolling down his
reddened face. His crying elicited cruel laughter from the crowd
around them.
    I noticed then that Lainey and Madison
were both standing by.
    Henry was, too.
    It surprised me more than it should
have. Part of me still held out that he was one of the good guys.
 
    As I watched, Lainey leaned on Henry's
shoulder. The very fact that she was touching him made me queasy. A
smug smile spread over her face, contorting her beautiful features
into an ugly caricature.
    "You need to stay out of my way!"
Ambrose yelled in the other boy's face. He reared his thick arm
back to punch. "I'll teach you, and you won't forget."
    "Stop it!" I yelled. The second after
the words were out I realized I had actually spoken aloud, not just
in my head. My fingers flew up to my lips, trying too late to catch
the words.
    Color rushed into my cheeks. What had
I done? Every face in the crowd of jerks turned towards me. Henry's
lips lowered into a frown, a line forming between his eyebrows. His
wide brown eyes met mine and he looked — what, guilty? Like a
little boy caught pulling a cat's tail. Or at least being complicit
in the event.
    Ambrose smiled at me. It was the
meanest smile I had ever seen. Everyone else looked merely
irritated that I had interrupted their fun, but still ready to
pounce. I took a step backward on instinct. I'd never been beaten
up, but I had the feeling today was