Read Online Impossible by Nancy Werlin - Free Book Online
Authors: Nancy Werlin
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Family, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Social Issues, Young Adult, Love & Romance, Pregnancy, Orphans & Foster Homes
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arms around me," he whispered.
Lucy realized suddenly that she didn't actually want to do that. There was an alarmed feeling knotting itself inside her.
She put her arms up around Gray's shoulders anyway. His arms closed around her, one at her back, the other lower, a band around her hips. His face hovered above hers. And then he was kissing her. Those soft lips again. Gentle. Gentle.
And then not so gentle.
Later, Lucy knew she had said no. She said it several times; she screamed it against his hand, which was covering her mouth. And she screamed for help, which never came. And she fought, as hard as she could. That, also, had been a terrifying shock, because if anyone had asked her ahead of time about her own strength, she would have had confidence in it. After all, she was an athlete. She was a good hurdler and a decent runner. She could do twenty boy-style pushups. She had even taken kickboxing classes. And, too, she would have said that Gray wasn't strong. He was a skinny band geek, for crying out loud. She would have thought that of course she could fight Gray Spencer, any day, and win.
But she could not.
At the end, when Gray was done but she was still pinned down and helpless, there came the most terrible moment of all. Gray looked straight into Lucy's face. And she looked up, stunned, terror-stricken, into his.
It was Gray. His hair. His nose. His mouth. His cheekbones and his very pale skin. Lucy recognized him. But looking out at her through his eyes …
It wasn't Gray Spencer at all. That made no sense, but Lucy felt the truth of it to her bones. It was someone else, using his body.
There was worse to come. The somebody-who-was-not-Gray spoke a single fluid sentence of vowels and consonants. The sentence was rhythmic and beautiful, but it was not English or any other language that Lucy could recognize.
Then the somebody-who-was-not-Gray smiled. "Fenella," he called Lucy, still using that same alien cadence. And in English: "I win. Again, you see. I always win."
And then he laughed.
CHAPTER 14
Out in the rapidly emptying hotel parking lot, Zach had located Gray's MINI Cooper and parked next to it. It was the logical place to intercept Lucy.
He was planning how he'd insist that Gray prove his sobriety by walking a straight line and repeating a limerick, when he spotted Gray walking from the hotel, but in a weird zigzag, as if he were not sure how to place his feet. He's drunk for sure, Zach diagnosed, and fury rose in him.
But Lucy was not with Gray.
Zach raised a hand to wave at Gray. "Hey! Spencer!" He saw Gray look up, recognize Zach—pause for one long moment—and then swerve. And all at once Gray was running, crazily, in entirely the wrong direction, away from Zach, away from his car, toward the other end of the parking lot where a wooded area began.
What?
Zach stood uncertainly by the MINI Cooper for a few more seconds while Gray's figure disappeared into the darkness of the woods. Where was Gray going? More importantly, where was Lucy? Back in the hotel? Or had she accepted a ride with someone else to the after-party?
He fingered his cell phone, but it was useless since Lucy didn't have hers.
Now he was second-guessing himself. Had that really been Gray he'd just seen? It was dark. Well. This was definitely Gray's car he was standing next to.
Frowning, he walked into the hotel, moving fast.
There were still a few kids lingering in the lobby. One girl said she thought she'd seen Lucy and Gray heading back up to the ballroom, so Zach went up there, taking the steps two at a time. He poked his head into the ballroom. No one was there. He called Lucy's name. It echoed through the room. He grabbed his cell phone again. He could call Lucy's friend Sarah Hebert. The after-party was at her house, he knew.
But then Zach spotted the ladies' restroom. He paused. He wasn't comfortable going inside. But … there was a feeling pulling at him.
He nudged the door partly open and called: "Lucy?
Lucy realized suddenly that she didn't actually want to do that. There was an alarmed feeling knotting itself inside her.
She put her arms up around Gray's shoulders anyway. His arms closed around her, one at her back, the other lower, a band around her hips. His face hovered above hers. And then he was kissing her. Those soft lips again. Gentle. Gentle.
And then not so gentle.
Later, Lucy knew she had said no. She said it several times; she screamed it against his hand, which was covering her mouth. And she screamed for help, which never came. And she fought, as hard as she could. That, also, had been a terrifying shock, because if anyone had asked her ahead of time about her own strength, she would have had confidence in it. After all, she was an athlete. She was a good hurdler and a decent runner. She could do twenty boy-style pushups. She had even taken kickboxing classes. And, too, she would have said that Gray wasn't strong. He was a skinny band geek, for crying out loud. She would have thought that of course she could fight Gray Spencer, any day, and win.
But she could not.
At the end, when Gray was done but she was still pinned down and helpless, there came the most terrible moment of all. Gray looked straight into Lucy's face. And she looked up, stunned, terror-stricken, into his.
It was Gray. His hair. His nose. His mouth. His cheekbones and his very pale skin. Lucy recognized him. But looking out at her through his eyes …
It wasn't Gray Spencer at all. That made no sense, but Lucy felt the truth of it to her bones. It was someone else, using his body.
There was worse to come. The somebody-who-was-not-Gray spoke a single fluid sentence of vowels and consonants. The sentence was rhythmic and beautiful, but it was not English or any other language that Lucy could recognize.
Then the somebody-who-was-not-Gray smiled. "Fenella," he called Lucy, still using that same alien cadence. And in English: "I win. Again, you see. I always win."
And then he laughed.
CHAPTER 14
Out in the rapidly emptying hotel parking lot, Zach had located Gray's MINI Cooper and parked next to it. It was the logical place to intercept Lucy.
He was planning how he'd insist that Gray prove his sobriety by walking a straight line and repeating a limerick, when he spotted Gray walking from the hotel, but in a weird zigzag, as if he were not sure how to place his feet. He's drunk for sure, Zach diagnosed, and fury rose in him.
But Lucy was not with Gray.
Zach raised a hand to wave at Gray. "Hey! Spencer!" He saw Gray look up, recognize Zach—pause for one long moment—and then swerve. And all at once Gray was running, crazily, in entirely the wrong direction, away from Zach, away from his car, toward the other end of the parking lot where a wooded area began.
What?
Zach stood uncertainly by the MINI Cooper for a few more seconds while Gray's figure disappeared into the darkness of the woods. Where was Gray going? More importantly, where was Lucy? Back in the hotel? Or had she accepted a ride with someone else to the after-party?
He fingered his cell phone, but it was useless since Lucy didn't have hers.
Now he was second-guessing himself. Had that really been Gray he'd just seen? It was dark. Well. This was definitely Gray's car he was standing next to.
Frowning, he walked into the hotel, moving fast.
There were still a few kids lingering in the lobby. One girl said she thought she'd seen Lucy and Gray heading back up to the ballroom, so Zach went up there, taking the steps two at a time. He poked his head into the ballroom. No one was there. He called Lucy's name. It echoed through the room. He grabbed his cell phone again. He could call Lucy's friend Sarah Hebert. The after-party was at her house, he knew.
But then Zach spotted the ladies' restroom. He paused. He wasn't comfortable going inside. But … there was a feeling pulling at him.
He nudged the door partly open and called: "Lucy?
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