Read Online Halo by Alexandra Adornetto - Free Book Online

her smile behind a napkin while Gabriel did something I’d never seen before. He blushed and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
    “Some acronym for a teenage obscenity, I imagine,” he mumbled.
    “Yes, but do you know what it means?”
    He paused, trying to find the right words.
    “It’s a term used by adolescent males to describe a woman who is both attractive and a mother.” He cleared his throat and got up quickly to refill the water jug.
    “I’m sure it must stand for something,” I pressed.
    “It does,” Gabriel said. “Ivy, can you remember what it is?”
    “I believe it stands for ‘mother I’d like to . . . befriend,’ ” said my sister.
    “Is that all?” I exclaimed. “What a fuss over nothing. I really think Miss Castle needs to chill .”

Small Miracles

    With dinner over and the dishes washed, Gabriel took a book out onto the veranda even though the light was already fading, while Ivy continued to clean, wiping down surfaces that already looked immaculate. She was starting to come across as obsessive in her desire for cleanliness, but it might have just been her way of feeling closer to home. I looked around the room for something I could do. In the Kingdom time didn’t exist and therefore didn’t need to be filled. Finding things to do was very important on earth; it was what gave life purpose.
    Gabriel must have sensed my unease because he seemed to change his mind about reading and poked his head back through the door.
    “Why don’t we all go for a walk and watch the sunset?” he suggested.
    “Great idea.” I felt my mood lift immediately. “You coming, Ivy?”
    “Not until I go upstairs and get us something warmer to wear,” she said. “It gets very cold in the evening.”
    I rolled my eyes at her display of caution. I was the only one who got cold, and I’d already put my coat on. Ivy and Gabriel had trained their bodies to maintain normal temperature on previous visits, but I still had a long way to go.
    “You’re not even going to feel the cold,” I objected.
    “That’s not the point. We may be seen not feeling the cold and draw attention.”
    “Ivy’s right,” said Gabe. “Best to play it safe.” He disappeared upstairs, returning with two bulky jackets.
    Our house was set high on the hill, so we had to meander our way down a series of sandy wooden steps before reaching the beach. The steps were so narrow that we had to walk single file. I couldn’t help thinking how much more convenient it would be if we could just release our wings and swoop down to the sand below. I didn’t articulate my thought to either Gabriel or Ivy, certain of the lecture that would follow if I did. I knew how dangerous flight was under the circumstances, a surefire way of blowing our cover. So we took mortal steps, all one hundred and seven of them, before reaching the shore.
    I threw off my shoes to savor the feel of the silky grains beneath my feet. There was so much to notice on earth. Even the sand was complex, shifting in color and texture and quite iridescent in places where the sun hit it. Aside from the sand, I noticed that the beach held other small treasures: pearly shells, fragments of glass worn smooth by the motion of the water, the occasional half-buried sandal or an abandoned shovel, and tiny white crabs that scuttled in and out of little pea-size holes in the rock pools. Being so close to the ocean was thrilling for the senses—it seemed to roar like a living thing, filling my mind with noise that subsided and reared up again unexpectedly. The sound hurt my ears, and the sharp, salty air scratched my throat and nose. The wind whipping against my cheeks left them pink and stinging. But I was growing to love every minute of it—every part of being human brought with it some new sensation.
    We walked along the shore, chased by the frothy waves of the tide coming in. Despite my recent resolve to exercise greater self-control, I couldn’t resist the sudden impulse to