Read Online Hollowed by Kelley York - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kelley York
Tags: Children's Books, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Children's eBooks, Sword & Sorcery, Spine-Chilling Horror, Science Fiction; Fantasy & Scary Stories, Scary Stories
Ads: Link
isn't even a little thing. This is a big thing. Why didn't you just tell me?"
"We debated it," Cole murmurs. "But we were concerned what your reaction would be."
Yeah, right. More like , "You didn't trust me not run off to find the one who turned me."
"I didn't say that."
"You don't have to." I turn around. Oliver grabs my arm and I slap his hand away. Not enough to hurt, but it startles him into letting me go. "You didn't trust me to tell me the truth, so like hell I'm going to trust either of you." I back out the door with Oliver grabbing for me again.
" Briar. "
Even as he calls my name , I'm turning, dashing down the hall and reaching the elevator before he can chase after. The obnoxious music wafting through the overhead speakers is a comical background sound to accompany my mood.
I feel safer in the lobby. Even they wouldn't be stupid enough to try grabbing me where I can draw attention. I hit the double doors and then the sidewalk before I slow from a jog to a walk, only because I can hear the most pathetic mewling behind me. Algonquin struggles to catch up on his short legs and I instantly feel guilty as I crouch and open my arms. He hops into them, heartbeat a million miles a minute under his tiny ribs.
"I'm sorry," I mumble into his fur. "Here I am upset about being left out, and I leave you behind." He purrs unsteadily and bumps his face against my chin, telling me everything is okay.
It isn't, but it will be. If no one will tell me the truth, then I'll figure it out on my own.
14 . Wednesday – 12:41pm
A day-pass and four buses later, and I ' m home.
I don ' t have any real attachment to this two-story house. It looks like any other house on the street and it ' s been three different colors—none of them attractive — during the time my family has lived there. This year ' s color scheme? Baby vomit.
I let myself in through the back door. No barking dogs to greet me, which means Mom and Dad are out of town and have them staying with a friend. T he house is eerily silent and lifeless. I don ' t know whether to be happy I ' m here, where things are familiar, or lonely.
Algonquin leads the way through the living room and upstairs. No sense in going to my room; we cleared it out when I moved. Instead I make straight for Ruby ' s door at the end of the hall.
Beyond the doorway, everything is frozen in time, not a single thing touched in years. Her clothes in the closet, her CDs scattered across her desk and an unfinished essay that will never be completed. Never turned in. It still smells lived in with the perfumes and sprays she liked to use.
Back when the cops were still looking for Ruby, I would sometimes come in here to sleep. I thought maybe she would come home. Sneak in through her window in the dead of night. But she never came back, and eventually the cops stopped looking. Eventually, Mom, Dad , and I gave up hope.
Could she really still be alive somewhere? And if she is, what is she doing getting involved with vampires? Why did she leave?
If all she wanted was to run away, why couldn ' t she have told me , of all people?
Algonquin perches himself on the foot of the bed, sniffing around. His presence reminds me that I can ' t stay here forever. I thought I wanted to see Mom and Dad, but the more I think about it, the less it seems like a good idea. Losing one daughter was bad enough, but losing another one? It ' s going to kill them.
But it would hurt more if I told them goodbye. Because I can ' t tell them why I can ' t come home again. If Noah was scared of me, then who knows how terrified I would make my own parents. I couldn ' t live with myself seeing that look on their faces.
From Ruby ' s closet, I pull out a duffel bag and shove a few pairs of socks and a pair of her favorite boots. I can ' t wear any of her clothes. I ' m too big in the chest, a little too wide in the hips. I guess if there ' s one thing I have going for me more than Ruby did, it ' s a bigger
"We debated it," Cole murmurs. "But we were concerned what your reaction would be."
Yeah, right. More like , "You didn't trust me not run off to find the one who turned me."
"I didn't say that."
"You don't have to." I turn around. Oliver grabs my arm and I slap his hand away. Not enough to hurt, but it startles him into letting me go. "You didn't trust me to tell me the truth, so like hell I'm going to trust either of you." I back out the door with Oliver grabbing for me again.
" Briar. "
Even as he calls my name , I'm turning, dashing down the hall and reaching the elevator before he can chase after. The obnoxious music wafting through the overhead speakers is a comical background sound to accompany my mood.
I feel safer in the lobby. Even they wouldn't be stupid enough to try grabbing me where I can draw attention. I hit the double doors and then the sidewalk before I slow from a jog to a walk, only because I can hear the most pathetic mewling behind me. Algonquin struggles to catch up on his short legs and I instantly feel guilty as I crouch and open my arms. He hops into them, heartbeat a million miles a minute under his tiny ribs.
"I'm sorry," I mumble into his fur. "Here I am upset about being left out, and I leave you behind." He purrs unsteadily and bumps his face against my chin, telling me everything is okay.
It isn't, but it will be. If no one will tell me the truth, then I'll figure it out on my own.
14 . Wednesday – 12:41pm
A day-pass and four buses later, and I ' m home.
I don ' t have any real attachment to this two-story house. It looks like any other house on the street and it ' s been three different colors—none of them attractive — during the time my family has lived there. This year ' s color scheme? Baby vomit.
I let myself in through the back door. No barking dogs to greet me, which means Mom and Dad are out of town and have them staying with a friend. T he house is eerily silent and lifeless. I don ' t know whether to be happy I ' m here, where things are familiar, or lonely.
Algonquin leads the way through the living room and upstairs. No sense in going to my room; we cleared it out when I moved. Instead I make straight for Ruby ' s door at the end of the hall.
Beyond the doorway, everything is frozen in time, not a single thing touched in years. Her clothes in the closet, her CDs scattered across her desk and an unfinished essay that will never be completed. Never turned in. It still smells lived in with the perfumes and sprays she liked to use.
Back when the cops were still looking for Ruby, I would sometimes come in here to sleep. I thought maybe she would come home. Sneak in through her window in the dead of night. But she never came back, and eventually the cops stopped looking. Eventually, Mom, Dad , and I gave up hope.
Could she really still be alive somewhere? And if she is, what is she doing getting involved with vampires? Why did she leave?
If all she wanted was to run away, why couldn ' t she have told me , of all people?
Algonquin perches himself on the foot of the bed, sniffing around. His presence reminds me that I can ' t stay here forever. I thought I wanted to see Mom and Dad, but the more I think about it, the less it seems like a good idea. Losing one daughter was bad enough, but losing another one? It ' s going to kill them.
But it would hurt more if I told them goodbye. Because I can ' t tell them why I can ' t come home again. If Noah was scared of me, then who knows how terrified I would make my own parents. I couldn ' t live with myself seeing that look on their faces.
From Ruby ' s closet, I pull out a duffel bag and shove a few pairs of socks and a pair of her favorite boots. I can ' t wear any of her clothes. I ' m too big in the chest, a little too wide in the hips. I guess if there ' s one thing I have going for me more than Ruby did, it ' s a bigger
Similar Books
