Read Online Hello World by Joanna Sellick - Free Book Online Page B

this.
    ‘That would be great, thanks,’ I say at
last. Joy nods contently before heading off.
    ‘The bathroom is just upstairs on the left
and I’m just about to put on some dinner, you’re welcome to join us.’
    ‘Thank you,’ is all I can think to say. I
creep quietly up the stairs, although the muffled sound of the two brothers
arguing has me halting in my tracks. They’ve hidden in one room, the door
slightly ajar and are talking in soft voices.
    ‘Have you told her yet?’ Jay’s brother
asks, slight annoyance in his voice.
    ‘No, you know I can’t,’ Jay replies, his
voice slightly strained. His brother says something muffled, so low that I
can’t hear. Jay sighs heavily.
    ‘I know, I know. I’ll talk to Mum about it
later. I hate this. I hate what this is doing to her,’ Jay mutters angrily.
    ‘I know, man. I know.’
    Knowing it’s probably family stuff,
possibly even to do with his aunt’s cancer, I quickly back away from the door
and leave them to it. Hell, it’s not like I want to be caught eavesdropping in
my new stranger’s house either.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CHAPTER 8

 
    The Ellsworth’s shower is just as grand as
the rest of the house and fires steamy, hot water at me from four different
angles. Revelling in cleanliness as I wash the mud and grime from my body, I
exit the shower and scavenge around for my leggings from yesterday.
    Someone has also left out a jacket,
presumably Jay’s, so I chuck that over my vest top and tie my wet hair up into
a ponytail before emerging again. Not really sure where to go, I head back down
the steps and find Jay and his brother lounging on the sofas in the large
living room I had noticed when I first entered.
    ‘Hey, Red. Ted or The Exorcist ?’ Jay
asks, holding up two DVD’s. He has changed his clothes and his hair is also
damp, which means that as well as many rooms, they also have many bathrooms. He
probably has his own personal ensuite, the rich bugger.
    Jay has a sort of pleading look in his eye,
reminding me just how much he hates horror films, and lifts the Ted DVD that little bit higher.
    ‘ Ted, ’
I say, nonchalantly. Jay’s shoulders relax slightly in relief. ‘Besides, I’ve
already seen The Exorcist . Only a
child would be scared by it.’ Jay sends daggers my way.
    Jay’s brother grins. His face is still
bothering me; I’ve racked my brain but can’t put a name to it.
    ‘Red, this is Blake,’ Jay says in a huff,
setting up the DVD player. Blake
Ellsworth .
    ‘Yep, we’ve met before,’ Blake confirms,
leaning back comfortably in his seat. Blake is a year older than Jay, if I had
been listening properly, and on his gap year. I half wonder why he’d spend his
gap year just hanging around at home but decide that to delve into the mind of
a boy would be a place of no return.
    Although Blake has Jay’s green eyes, his
hair is a few shades darker, albeit cropped in a similar style, and has a faint
line of dark stubble decorating his chin. Blake is also a fair bit taller than
Jay and more toned. He probably spends most of his spare time at the gym.
    Blake winks and I groan, finally placing
him as the stranger who had intercepted Martin and his gang of ghouls the other
night. Typical that I would meet both of the Ellsworth boy’s in situations they
had to pull me out of.
    ‘You have?’ Jay asks, confused.
    ‘The other night during my run in with
Martin, the one I called you about. He got them to back off.’
    Jay looks angrily at Blake. ‘And you just
left her?’
    ‘She stalked off! What was I supposed to
do, follow her?’
    ‘Yes. That’s what girls do! They stalk off
and then you’re supposed to follow them!’ I roll my eyes as the brothers bicker
and play the film, enjoying the strange normality of it all.
    They continue their bickering, the topic
changing every now and then during the film, yet I notice that no matter how he
tries to hide it, Jay has that same look of pain flashing across his face