Read Online Hard to Get by Emma Carlson Berne - Free Book Online
Authors: Emma Carlson Berne
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clenched. The other guys closed in with interest. I quietly edged toward the door, and when I was in reach, lunged for the doorknob and the sanctuary of the porch beyond.
I pushed open the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. The cold night air was fresh against my cheeks after the crush of the house. I sank onto a cushioned porch swing, half-hidden behind a thick white pillar. I leaned my head back and gazed at the deep black sky, where a few inky clouds were scudding across the crescent moon. I closed my eyes. Daveâs face reared up in the darkness behind my eyelids. He gestured to me apologetically and put his arm around Taylor, whose orange-painted lips were stretched across her teeth in a victorious grin. Together, they waltzed across my field of vision, smiling into each otherâs eyes. Then the rattle of voices nearby startled me out of my half doze.
âDude, he was totally making out with her and she found them in the parking lot,â a guyâs voice was saying.
âShe saw them?â a girl squealed.
I raised my head. A small group I hadnât noticed before was sitting in the shadows at the other end of the long, deep porch, perched on drawn-up chairs. I could see the tips of cigarettes glowing like orange pinpricks in the dark.
âHow awful,â another girl breathed, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
I sank back on the cushions, wishing it were possible just to melt away and ooze onto the lawn. I might as well just parade the school hallways wearing a sandwich board reading this girl was jilted by david strauss. But then Iâd be depriving everyone of such a fun opportunity for juicy gossip.
I leaned back farther in the porch swing, ignoring the creak of the chains, and curling myself in a tight ball. The creaks grew louder. Suddenly, I heard the sound of wood splintering and then the seat of the swing tilted up dramatically, dumping me backward, over the porch railing behind me and into a row of spiky yew bushes.
I yelped and thrashed around like animpaled fish. Sticks were poking me everywhere and the bushes smelled ominously of cat pee. âWhat was that?â someone on the porch said, and then there was a general scraping of chairs. I yanked at my T-shirt, which was snarled in a clump of branches. With effort, I stuck one leg out of the shrub and, grasping a branch just over my head, pulled myself out of the bushes. A row of faces appeared over the porch railing like a series of small moons. Any chance Iâd had of hiding was now utterly gone.
âHey!â someone said. I couldnât face a horde of gossipmongers right now. I fled around the corner of the house toward the backyard and skidded to a halt as I came in full view of the pool, now full of splashing juniors, including Kevin and Brian, who had apparently not killed each other inside.
Their backs were toward me but I could be spotted at any moment. I glanced around. A weathered gray trellis stood to my right, and on a sudden impulse, I darted behind it. I paused, panting. A stand of cypress trees created a thick piney wall that pressed against my back. I huddled against the prickly needles. At my feet, a narrow path of thick, mowed grass led back through the cypresstrees. Iâd never seen the path before, but then, I usually didnât spend much time lurking around the outskirts of Kellyâs yard.
A group of girls, screeching with laughter, passed just a few inches away. Even though I knew they couldnât see me behind the trellis, I stepped back a few feet, then turned and, pushing through the branches, followed the path back into the shadowy, silent grove. Through a gap in the trees, I could see a sliver of the pool and the bright colored lights strung around it. The splashing and shouting voices were muffled, as if the party were much farther away than it really was. All around me, the cypress trees pressed thick and cool.
I followed the narrow path as it twisted around one
I pushed open the screen door and stepped out onto the porch. The cold night air was fresh against my cheeks after the crush of the house. I sank onto a cushioned porch swing, half-hidden behind a thick white pillar. I leaned my head back and gazed at the deep black sky, where a few inky clouds were scudding across the crescent moon. I closed my eyes. Daveâs face reared up in the darkness behind my eyelids. He gestured to me apologetically and put his arm around Taylor, whose orange-painted lips were stretched across her teeth in a victorious grin. Together, they waltzed across my field of vision, smiling into each otherâs eyes. Then the rattle of voices nearby startled me out of my half doze.
âDude, he was totally making out with her and she found them in the parking lot,â a guyâs voice was saying.
âShe saw them?â a girl squealed.
I raised my head. A small group I hadnât noticed before was sitting in the shadows at the other end of the long, deep porch, perched on drawn-up chairs. I could see the tips of cigarettes glowing like orange pinpricks in the dark.
âHow awful,â another girl breathed, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
I sank back on the cushions, wishing it were possible just to melt away and ooze onto the lawn. I might as well just parade the school hallways wearing a sandwich board reading this girl was jilted by david strauss. But then Iâd be depriving everyone of such a fun opportunity for juicy gossip.
I leaned back farther in the porch swing, ignoring the creak of the chains, and curling myself in a tight ball. The creaks grew louder. Suddenly, I heard the sound of wood splintering and then the seat of the swing tilted up dramatically, dumping me backward, over the porch railing behind me and into a row of spiky yew bushes.
I yelped and thrashed around like animpaled fish. Sticks were poking me everywhere and the bushes smelled ominously of cat pee. âWhat was that?â someone on the porch said, and then there was a general scraping of chairs. I yanked at my T-shirt, which was snarled in a clump of branches. With effort, I stuck one leg out of the shrub and, grasping a branch just over my head, pulled myself out of the bushes. A row of faces appeared over the porch railing like a series of small moons. Any chance Iâd had of hiding was now utterly gone.
âHey!â someone said. I couldnât face a horde of gossipmongers right now. I fled around the corner of the house toward the backyard and skidded to a halt as I came in full view of the pool, now full of splashing juniors, including Kevin and Brian, who had apparently not killed each other inside.
Their backs were toward me but I could be spotted at any moment. I glanced around. A weathered gray trellis stood to my right, and on a sudden impulse, I darted behind it. I paused, panting. A stand of cypress trees created a thick piney wall that pressed against my back. I huddled against the prickly needles. At my feet, a narrow path of thick, mowed grass led back through the cypresstrees. Iâd never seen the path before, but then, I usually didnât spend much time lurking around the outskirts of Kellyâs yard.
A group of girls, screeching with laughter, passed just a few inches away. Even though I knew they couldnât see me behind the trellis, I stepped back a few feet, then turned and, pushing through the branches, followed the path back into the shadowy, silent grove. Through a gap in the trees, I could see a sliver of the pool and the bright colored lights strung around it. The splashing and shouting voices were muffled, as if the party were much farther away than it really was. All around me, the cypress trees pressed thick and cool.
I followed the narrow path as it twisted around one
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