Read Online Hereafter by Tara Hudson - Free Book Online Page A

confused by his sudden behavior, I might have laughed when he skidded to a stop and spun around to face me again, kicking up a dramatic cloud of red dirt.
    “Come on,” he yelled, and turned to run back to his father’s car. Without thinking, I obeyed the order and ran after him.
    As he fumbled to unlock the driver’s side door, I cleared my throat.
    “Um, Joshua? What’s wrong?”
    “We’re going to be late.”
    “For what?”
    He ignored my question. “Lunch is over in about ten minutes.”
    “And?” I asked, growing a little frustrated with the mystery.
    “And we’re going to have to break about forty-seven traffic laws to get there on time.”
    “To get where ?” I threw my hands in the air, completely baffled.
    “Class.”
    The word was muffled as he ducked into the driver’s seat. Within seconds he threw open the passenger side door in front of me and leaned out.
    “Come on,” he repeated.
    “Come . . . to school? With you?”
    “Of course.”
    The idea made me almost rock back on my heels in shock. I wanted to argue the logic of this with him, especially the possibility of going anywhere in public together. But the urgency in his expression told me he wouldn’t be open to debate. So I too spun around rapidly—facing him, then the familiar safety of the woods, then him again.
    “No time to think, Amelia. Just get in.”
    “But,” I protested weakly, “I don’t even remember how to ride in a car!”
    He grinned and patted the seat.
    “It’s like riding a bike, I promise.”
    “I don’t remember how to do that, either,” I grumbled, but I slipped into the passenger seat and let him lean over to pull the door shut beside me.

Chapter
Eight
    D eath may have stolen my old memories of riding in a car, but it certainly couldn’t take away my new ones. The farther Joshua drove, the more my initial fear of the ride, and the events to follow it, began to melt away.
    As Joshua’s borrowed car flew along the steep, curved roads outside the park, I shifted forward in my seat until I’d nearly pressed myself against the dashboard. I watched the dense green woods rush by us in a panorama outside the windshield.
    Although I was unable to experience the physical sensation of sitting in the car, I didn’t feel the least bit sad about this. I felt untethered, and impossibly fast — as though I were flying. I gripped the edge of the seat beneath me, and, incredibly, the sensation of its rough leather scraped against my fingertips.
    “Hey, Amelia?”
    Joshua’s worried voice broke into my thoughts, and the feel of the leather instantly disappeared.
    “Yeah?” However much I enjoyed looking at him, I could barely tear my eyes away from the road long enough to give him a sidelong glance.
    “I’m not trying to tell you what to do or anything, but would you please scoot back? The way you’re sitting, you’re putting a lot of faith in my driving.”
    I laughed. “Well, it’s not like I can fly through your windshield.”
    From my peripheral vision, I saw him frown deeply. The image of his car floating to the bottom of the river flashed into my mind. I shook my head at my own stupidity.
    “Sorry,” I muttered. “Bad joke.”
    “It’s okay,” he answered with a faint smile. “But . . . all the same, you’re making me nervous.”
    “Sorry,” I repeated, and I slid back into the seat.
    I kept my eyes glued to the blurred scenery outside the windows. Still, I itched to lean forward again, so I grabbed the seat to hold myself in place and tried in vain to revive the sensation of leather against my skin.
    Eventually, the woods gave way to a small town. The road wound through a sort of main street dotted with small buildings and scattered pines. A painted wooden sign along the roadside welcomed us to Wilburton, Oklahoma.
    The town reminded me of a vaguely familiar photograph, one that I’d seen a long time ago but couldn’t place now. Had I passed through this particular town in my