Read Online Louder Than Words by Laurie Plissner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Laurie Plissner
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found a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that had been lost between the sofa cushions for four years. Shouldn’t I be more worked up about this development? Shouldn’t I be running over to Seashell Lane, looking for some clues to bring my foggy memory into focus? But instead of wanting to see my old bedroom again, I was way more interested in seeing Ben.
Alone in my bedroom I texted Jules.
I met a boy at the library today .
Cute?
Majorly .
Name?
Ben Fisher .
I know him. In my calc class. Total hottie, looks like one of those Roman statues you’re always mooning over in your art books .
He kind of rescued me .
What???? she texted back. I could almost hear her yelling.
I’ll e-mail you. Too long for text .
I laid out the whole sordid tale, leaving out the mind-reading bit. At some point I would tell her, but that was an in-person conversation.
Sasha, you have to go to the police!! How can you not tell Charlotte and Stuart? Ben’s right. They would’ve raped you if he hadn’t shown up. You can’t let them get away with that. What if they come after you again? What if they attack someone else? You would feel responsible, wouldn’t you?
Probably pretty selfish not to think of it the way Jules did, but I was practically a professional victim, and I didn’t need everyone in the world to know that it had happened again.
I can’t. It was the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me. I was half-naked and totally helpless. If I tell, I’ll have to keep thinking about it. I just want to forget about it. Promise me you won’t say a word to anyone, no matter what .
I promise. I think you’re crazy, but I promise .
Thanks, Jules. I’ll be fine. I just need to be more careful about wandering around in the dark .
Don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened, Sasha. If you do, then I’ll definitely tell. You’re fragile enough as it is—more guilt isn’t what you need .
Fine. No guilt .
So, is he nice?
Beyond sweet. Told me I’m beautiful . I blushed thinking about the naked part.
:) You are. So did he ask you out? Now Jules was sounding like Charlotte.
No. You think he might? It would have been weird if he had, after what happened .
Boys don’t talk about looks unless they mean it. He must like you, or at least your boobs .
Funny. Cross your fingers for me .
My whole body’s crossed .
Thank goodness you gave me that book. I might actually need it!
Trust me, Sash, you will .
Ben’s appearance in my life was like a sudden onset of turbulence, and all my baggage was spilling out of my overhead compartments, no matter how hard I tried to slam them shut. The more I tried to shove my private thoughts to the back of my mind, where I hoped they might be hidden from his telepathic brain, the more intrusive those thoughts became, probably reaching Ben’s supernatural ears as if I were shouting at him. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on other things, every time I closed my eyes I saw Ben standing in my kitchen without his shirt, smiling that dangerous smile. My hormones, which had apparently been hibernating, had suddenly woken up. And like a bear after a long winter, I was hungry.
I fell asleep wondering who else knew about Ben’s special powers. Was I the only person outside his family who knew, or was the inner circle much larger? Why did he tell me? He could have rescued me without disclosing his unusual talent. Maybe he thought I was special in some way, or maybe he thought a mute, social outcast would be the perfect person to keep his secret.
Instead of the usual nightly rerun of my personal catastrophe playing out behind my eyelids, I was bombarded with a spate of new images. Someone kept changing the channels. First I was wandering through an enormous hotel, ankle deep in water, barefoot, looking for a way out. Strange and vaguely disturbing, but a walk in the park compared to my usual nighttime viewing. Then I was in a dark, primeval forest, tree limbs reaching down to
Alone in my bedroom I texted Jules.
I met a boy at the library today .
Cute?
Majorly .
Name?
Ben Fisher .
I know him. In my calc class. Total hottie, looks like one of those Roman statues you’re always mooning over in your art books .
He kind of rescued me .
What???? she texted back. I could almost hear her yelling.
I’ll e-mail you. Too long for text .
I laid out the whole sordid tale, leaving out the mind-reading bit. At some point I would tell her, but that was an in-person conversation.
Sasha, you have to go to the police!! How can you not tell Charlotte and Stuart? Ben’s right. They would’ve raped you if he hadn’t shown up. You can’t let them get away with that. What if they come after you again? What if they attack someone else? You would feel responsible, wouldn’t you?
Probably pretty selfish not to think of it the way Jules did, but I was practically a professional victim, and I didn’t need everyone in the world to know that it had happened again.
I can’t. It was the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me. I was half-naked and totally helpless. If I tell, I’ll have to keep thinking about it. I just want to forget about it. Promise me you won’t say a word to anyone, no matter what .
I promise. I think you’re crazy, but I promise .
Thanks, Jules. I’ll be fine. I just need to be more careful about wandering around in the dark .
Don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened, Sasha. If you do, then I’ll definitely tell. You’re fragile enough as it is—more guilt isn’t what you need .
Fine. No guilt .
So, is he nice?
Beyond sweet. Told me I’m beautiful . I blushed thinking about the naked part.
:) You are. So did he ask you out? Now Jules was sounding like Charlotte.
No. You think he might? It would have been weird if he had, after what happened .
Boys don’t talk about looks unless they mean it. He must like you, or at least your boobs .
Funny. Cross your fingers for me .
My whole body’s crossed .
Thank goodness you gave me that book. I might actually need it!
Trust me, Sash, you will .
Ben’s appearance in my life was like a sudden onset of turbulence, and all my baggage was spilling out of my overhead compartments, no matter how hard I tried to slam them shut. The more I tried to shove my private thoughts to the back of my mind, where I hoped they might be hidden from his telepathic brain, the more intrusive those thoughts became, probably reaching Ben’s supernatural ears as if I were shouting at him. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on other things, every time I closed my eyes I saw Ben standing in my kitchen without his shirt, smiling that dangerous smile. My hormones, which had apparently been hibernating, had suddenly woken up. And like a bear after a long winter, I was hungry.
I fell asleep wondering who else knew about Ben’s special powers. Was I the only person outside his family who knew, or was the inner circle much larger? Why did he tell me? He could have rescued me without disclosing his unusual talent. Maybe he thought I was special in some way, or maybe he thought a mute, social outcast would be the perfect person to keep his secret.
Instead of the usual nightly rerun of my personal catastrophe playing out behind my eyelids, I was bombarded with a spate of new images. Someone kept changing the channels. First I was wandering through an enormous hotel, ankle deep in water, barefoot, looking for a way out. Strange and vaguely disturbing, but a walk in the park compared to my usual nighttime viewing. Then I was in a dark, primeval forest, tree limbs reaching down to
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