Read Online Landon (In Safe Hands Book 1) by S.M. Shade - Free Book Online Page A

the basement game room to shoot around on the pool table. It’s one of
the few rooms I’ve kept relatively clean, since the guys sometimes come over to
play pool.
    It
doesn’t distract me from thoughts of Zoe. If I told her about me and what I do,
would she understand? Would she run screaming at my limitations and the fact
that I’m technically a criminal? Good idea or not, I know I’m getting closer
and closer to saying fuck it, and telling her everything, including how much I
want her, and not just in my bed.

Chapter
Five
     
    Zoe
     
    Ethan
dives on my bed on Monday morning, nearly bouncing me out of it. “Wake up!”
    “What?”
I groan.
    “Why
didn’t you tell me?” he asks, his voice filled with joy.
    I
fight to focus my eyes on the paper he’s waving in front of me. “About what?”
    “Driver’s
education! You paid the fee? I can really go?”
    Smiling,
I roll over. “Yep. Learn to be a careful driver and we’ll put you on my
insurance.”
    “I
have to start saving for my own car!” he cries, bounding out of the room.
    “No
working during the school year!” I call after him, but he’s already on his
phone, telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s getting his license. It’s good to
see him so happy. Things have been better for both of us since I’m making more
money. It’s not enough to afford rent in a better area, but I don’t have to eat
peanut butter for a week to make sure Ethan has food. Always a plus.
    I’ve
been able to get us both some badly needed clothes, buy Ethan a new pair of
glasses, and get our teeth cleaned. It’s amazing the things you have to neglect
when it’s a choice between health and food. The future is looking better, so I
should’ve expected the phone call that drags us right back to the past.
    My
caller ID shows the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and I’m sure it’s a wrong
number until the man asks, “Is this Ms. Zoe Page?”
    “Um…yes,
I’m Zoe.”
    “Ms.
Page, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but there’s been an accident.” Cold
fear trickles down my spine. Ethan is in the next room. I can hear him. Who
could they be calling me about?
    “Who?
What happened?” I stammer, shutting my bedroom door.
    “I’m
afraid your parents were in an auto accident last night. The EMT’s and doctors
did all they could, but their injuries were too grave.”
    My
heart thumps against my ribs. “Are you telling me they’re dead?”
    “Yes,
Ms. Page. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
    The
sheriff gives me the number to the county morgue. I barely hear what he’s
telling me until he repeats himself. “We need someone to come down and ID the
bodies, Ms. Page.”
    “I-the
morgue?”
    “Yes,
ma’am. I have the number and address for you.”
    After
taking down the information, I hang up and flop onto the bed. I don’t know how
to feel. They hated me. They hated Ethan. But they were our parents. Shouldn’t
I be crying? Shouldn’t I be feeling something other than shock?
    They
have no other family, so like it or not, planning the funerals falls on me.
Maybe I should just call their preacher. He’s the one they’d want handling
things, not me. A stubborn hurt part of me just can’t make that call. He’s the
one who told them to rid themselves of their evil children.
    They
forced me to go to church, and I complied until I turned eighteen. When I told
them I wasn’t going to go anymore, that I didn’t believe the same as them, they
kicked me out. I had nothing but a part time job, not even a real high school
diploma since they homeschooled me. If it hadn’t been for a local homeless
shelter, I’d have been on the street. They gave me a place to stay, paid for me
to get my GED and helped me find a full time job. Four years later, they
repeated their actions with Ethan when he came out.
    Suddenly,
I’m pissed. How dare they do all that to us then expect me to do anything for
them? Dead or alive. Maybe they had a will. I know what lawyer they