Read Online I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Meredith Moore
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but my growling stomach urges me to try.
I leave the cottage behind and head in the most likely direction.
The sky is now deep blue with a netting of gray clouds covering the sliver of moon like a mantilla. The trees are ink drawings: gnarled lines beneath the dark sky. There are no identifying markers that I can recognize, but I stay calm. I can find my way. I’m sure of it.
I walk along the moors as the deep blue sky melts into blackness. The crescent moon offers almost nothing in the way of light, and the wind and the rain grow stronger, battling my every move, dragging down my soaked clothes. The only sound I can hear beyond the roar of the wind is the creaking of the trees, their branches reaching for me as I pass. The ground beneath me feels unsteady, as if it might give way and swallow me whole.
I take deep breaths and keep going. I will not let the immensity of the moors frighten me.
I must have been walking for an hour in the heavy downpour. My legs ache, and the grumbling in my stomach has grown into a roar. My teeth clack together, and though I wrap my arms around myself, I can’t stop the shivers running through me.
I am lost in the shadows of the night.
And then, suddenly, a sound. I hurry to it, to the voice calling my name.
The person I find, however, is the last person I want to see.
“What happened?” Arthur asks when I practically stumble on him. He looks just as drenched as I am, as if he’s been looking for me for hours. The rain slides down his cheekbones like a caress. His T-shirt sticks to his chest, where there are muscles I don’t remember him having. “You’re miles from the cottage. And the school.”
I force myself to look up into his eyes, and I have to blink as the rain streams down my face. “I got lost.” I mean to sound cold, matter-of-fact, like someone who doesn’t need his help. The voice I answer him with, though, is small and shaky. Real.
He takes a deep breath, looking down at me. “We’ll get you back. You need to get warm.”
He glances at me again as we start moving. He curses under his breath, some harsh word I don’t quite catch. “I shouldn’t have sent you out here. You could have killed yourself. It’s not forgiving land. But I wanted—” He stops himself. “I wanted you to have somewhere you could be alone. Be the Vivian I remember.”
I shiver, though I don’t know if it’s from the cold or from his words. I don’t say anything back. I can’t.
We say nothing else for nearly an hour as the rain finally lets up and he leads me back to the school. It’s only when campus is in sight that he stops and looks at me. “I’m not your friend anymore,” he says, scowling. He means to sound gruff, but I can hear the faint waver of uncertainty in his voice.
“I know,” I answer.
“I won’t help you destroy Ben.”
“I know that, too.”
He sighs and looks as if he wants to say something else, but then he shakes his head. His hair has mostly dried out now, and it’s the same mussed, black hair that I remember. He turns away, then turns back. “Happy birthday,” he says quietly. Reluctantly.
I feel my eyes grow wider as I stare at him. Why would he say that? Why would he even remember my birthday?
Before I can think of what to say, he walks away, leaving me to face Madigan on my own. I watch him go, his tall form a black shadow in the dim moonlight. The one person in the world who knows and cares about my birthday. Even if he hates me, too.
I tell myself to focus as I trudge up the hill to the main building. Lightning flashes, lighting up the old gray stones, and I start to run.
I buzz in at the main gate. A teacher comes out, his eyebrows raised and his mouth a tight line of disapproval as he points me to the headmaster’s office. I leave a trail of water along the marble floor as I march. I’m shivering constantly now, which will help me with Harriford.
I see him out front, talking to the secretary. His eyes grow wide when I enter,
I leave the cottage behind and head in the most likely direction.
The sky is now deep blue with a netting of gray clouds covering the sliver of moon like a mantilla. The trees are ink drawings: gnarled lines beneath the dark sky. There are no identifying markers that I can recognize, but I stay calm. I can find my way. I’m sure of it.
I walk along the moors as the deep blue sky melts into blackness. The crescent moon offers almost nothing in the way of light, and the wind and the rain grow stronger, battling my every move, dragging down my soaked clothes. The only sound I can hear beyond the roar of the wind is the creaking of the trees, their branches reaching for me as I pass. The ground beneath me feels unsteady, as if it might give way and swallow me whole.
I take deep breaths and keep going. I will not let the immensity of the moors frighten me.
I must have been walking for an hour in the heavy downpour. My legs ache, and the grumbling in my stomach has grown into a roar. My teeth clack together, and though I wrap my arms around myself, I can’t stop the shivers running through me.
I am lost in the shadows of the night.
And then, suddenly, a sound. I hurry to it, to the voice calling my name.
The person I find, however, is the last person I want to see.
“What happened?” Arthur asks when I practically stumble on him. He looks just as drenched as I am, as if he’s been looking for me for hours. The rain slides down his cheekbones like a caress. His T-shirt sticks to his chest, where there are muscles I don’t remember him having. “You’re miles from the cottage. And the school.”
I force myself to look up into his eyes, and I have to blink as the rain streams down my face. “I got lost.” I mean to sound cold, matter-of-fact, like someone who doesn’t need his help. The voice I answer him with, though, is small and shaky. Real.
He takes a deep breath, looking down at me. “We’ll get you back. You need to get warm.”
He glances at me again as we start moving. He curses under his breath, some harsh word I don’t quite catch. “I shouldn’t have sent you out here. You could have killed yourself. It’s not forgiving land. But I wanted—” He stops himself. “I wanted you to have somewhere you could be alone. Be the Vivian I remember.”
I shiver, though I don’t know if it’s from the cold or from his words. I don’t say anything back. I can’t.
We say nothing else for nearly an hour as the rain finally lets up and he leads me back to the school. It’s only when campus is in sight that he stops and looks at me. “I’m not your friend anymore,” he says, scowling. He means to sound gruff, but I can hear the faint waver of uncertainty in his voice.
“I know,” I answer.
“I won’t help you destroy Ben.”
“I know that, too.”
He sighs and looks as if he wants to say something else, but then he shakes his head. His hair has mostly dried out now, and it’s the same mussed, black hair that I remember. He turns away, then turns back. “Happy birthday,” he says quietly. Reluctantly.
I feel my eyes grow wider as I stare at him. Why would he say that? Why would he even remember my birthday?
Before I can think of what to say, he walks away, leaving me to face Madigan on my own. I watch him go, his tall form a black shadow in the dim moonlight. The one person in the world who knows and cares about my birthday. Even if he hates me, too.
I tell myself to focus as I trudge up the hill to the main building. Lightning flashes, lighting up the old gray stones, and I start to run.
I buzz in at the main gate. A teacher comes out, his eyebrows raised and his mouth a tight line of disapproval as he points me to the headmaster’s office. I leave a trail of water along the marble floor as I march. I’m shivering constantly now, which will help me with Harriford.
I see him out front, talking to the secretary. His eyes grow wide when I enter,
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