Read Online Hush by Anne Frasier - Free Book Online

his friends who didn't seem to think at all. Or were they
faking it too, just like him?
    As he approached his house, Ethan turned off
his Walkman and removed it. Earlier that day, he'd left his bedroom
window unlocked. Now he slid it open, then, after dropping the
Walkman inside, he pulled himself up, his belly pressed against the
window frame, his head inside the pitch-black room. Headfirst, he
wormed his way in, finally rolling to the carpeted floor. He lay
there a minute, catching his breath, listening, hoping Max, who had
hearing like a wild animal's, didn't wake up. He was thinking he'd
gotten away with it when a voice came out of the darkness.
    "Four hours past curfew," Max said.
    There was no anger there, just a low, smooth
tone that sent Ethan's heart racing, that made his stomach
tighten.
    "But then I guess I should be honored that
you came home at all."
    Never try to fool a cop. Ethan should have
learned that by now.
    He didn't know where the idea came from, but
Ethan said, "I'm not staying."
    He stood up and jerked open the curtain.
Light from the street poured into his room. He began grabbing
clothes, anything, stuffing them into his backpack, not really
thinking, just wanting out of there, away from Max. He'd figure the
rest out later. He stuck his Walkman between some clothes, then
zipped the pack.
    There was enough light for Ethan to see Max
sitting in the corner on the floor. He unfolded himself and got to
his feet. "You can't leave. You're on probation."
    Ethan's heart continued to hammer. He could
feel it in his throat, in his head. To hell with Max, Ethan tried
to tell himself. Ethan didn't give a shit what he thought. The guy
was nothing to him. Nothing.
    So why did he have this awful gnawing feeling
in his gut?
    To hell with Max.
    The window was still open. Ethan briefly
thought of diving out, but he was afraid Max might grab his legs
before he could get away. And if he dove out the window, Max would
know what a panic he was in. No, it would be better to walk past
him and out the front door, as if he didn't give a shit. There was
nothing cool about diving out a window.
    He grabbed his backpack and walked.
    Past Max.
    Down the hallway.
    Unlocked the front door.
    Out the door.
    Down the sidewalk.
    He heard a sound behind him.
    Ethan dropped his backpack and cut to the
right, through the yard, through the sprinklers. He wasn't fast
enough. Hands, arms wrapped around his waist as Max tackled him,
bringing him to the ground. For a second, Ethan saw black dots. He
blinked them away. Water sprayed in his face. His head was shoved
against the wet grass.
    That pissed him off. That really pissed him
off. He let himself go limp. Max released him and was moving away
when Ethan rolled over. With a roar of rage, he jumped to his feet
and attacked, the top of his head meeting Max's stomach, propelling
the man to the ground.
    Victory!
    Oh, shit. He'd knocked down his old man. And
now they were rolling through the grass, water from the sprinklers
blasting Ethan in the face. Ethan let go of Max and was ready to
haul ass out of there.
    "Ethan!" Max's hand lashed out, grabbing him
by the ankle, pulling him down. Max had shouted his name, but it
now occurred to Ethan that he hadn't sounded mad.
    Max's grip on Ethan's ankle relaxed. Ethan
scrambled to his feet while Max rolled to his back, one foot on the
grass, leg bent, arms spread out. The guy was laughing. Trying to
catch his breath, but laughing all the same. Lying there on the
grass, water soaking him, laughing. And then Ethan became aware of
his own clothes, soaked, wet and cold, heavy, aware of a jet of
water hitting him in the face, and he began to laugh too. He didn't
want to. Didn't want to be sharing a joke with Max, but damn, he
couldn't help it. And once he started laughing, he couldn't stop.
He laughed until his knees went weak and he had to drop to the
ground. He laughed until his stomach burned, until tears ran down
his cheeks along with the water.
    Somebody