Read Online No One Needs to Know by Amanda Grace - Free Book Online
Authors: Amanda Grace
Tags: Romance, YA), Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult, teen, teen fiction, ya fiction, ya novel, young adult novel, Lgbt, teen novel, ya book, teenlit, young adult lit, lgbtq, amanda grace, mandy hubbard
Ads: Link
she narrows her eyes, assembling the balls in an odd diamond shape with the shiny black 8 is in the middle. I don’t know where the rest of the balls are, but we’re at least a few short.
Then, carefully, she pulls the frame off and hangs it on the wall behind the table. “All set,” she says, rounding to the far end, where she places the cue ball.
I want to ask her what game this is, since I’ve only ever played with a triangle-shaped mass of balls, but for some reason I don’t want to ask. I’ll look stupid.
I know a moment later, as the cue ball hits the tip of the diamond and the balls scatter with a loud crack , that she expected to win the game against my brother. And I know she’s going to win this one. She sinks four balls before I get a chance to try at all.
She looks up at me, a triumphant, cocky grin on her face. “It’s all yours.”
I nod, circling the table and studying the balls. I’m just hoping to get one shot off without looking too dumb.
I lean over, staring down the cue ball for all I’m worth. Then I slide the stick back and let loose. The cue ball streaks across the table, smacking into a group of other balls.
The eight ball careens across the table, then drops into the corner pocket.
“Woohoo,” I say, fist-pumping.
“You just lost,” Zoey says. “And clearly you have no idea how to play pool.”
“Oh.” I glance back at the table. Obviously I should have inquired about the rules first. We’ve only had the table for six months, and I’m terrible at it since Liam never wants to play me.
“I’m going to go sit on the deck,” I say. “You can come out if you want.”
Outside, I stand at the railing, staring across the darkened waters at Brown’s Point—still technically Tacoma, but the jagged edge of Puget Sound separates the two ends of town. Houses blaze light across the darkness, nothing more than tiny pricks of light in the distance.
Zoey doesn’t follow. I don’t even know if I want her to, but as I sit out here in the dark, listening to her laugh at something Liam must’ve said, I feel … lonely.
I don’t know if it’s how Ava is getting more wrapped up in Ayden lately, or how Liam’s pulling away, or the fact that we haven’t seen our parents in almost a month … But I can’t seem to shake this shade of emptiness.
Ava and I used to connect on everything. We used to talk about our first crushes, our parents’ fights, and everything in between.
I scowl out at the water. It makes me feel small. That’s why I’m thinking these melancholy thoughts. I always feel introspective when I stare out at the bay.
“Contemplating your plans to solve world hunger?” Zoey says into the darkness.
I glance back, surprised she’s come outside, with a glass in her hand that’s filled with ice cubes and something dark.
“Something like that.”
“Why don’t you ever have friends over when I’m here?”
“Liam and I are friends.”
“I mean, besides your brother.”
“Ava’s busy.”
“Ava’s seriously your only friend?” Zoey asks, and the surprise is evident in her voice.
“You already knew that,” I say, “or you wouldn’t have issued that little challenge.”
“I mean, I knew you didn’t have some enormous group of friends, but I figured you had more than Ava.”
I feel my cheeks warm, and I hate it. “Why the hell do you care?”
That shuts her up for a second. Her lips press into a thin line. When she finally speaks, her voice is icy. “I’d rather have no friends than the artificial, backstabbing one you call a best friend.”
“Oh, so that’s what you’re getting at. It’s not about me at all, is it? You don’t like Ava.”
“Of course I don’t like Ava. Don’t be stupid.”
“You don’t even know her,” I say, gripping the railing harder.
“Don’t I? Go ask Ava about freshman year, then.”
“She had nothing to do with that,” I say, anger rising. “It was all you.”
“She has everything to do with
Then, carefully, she pulls the frame off and hangs it on the wall behind the table. “All set,” she says, rounding to the far end, where she places the cue ball.
I want to ask her what game this is, since I’ve only ever played with a triangle-shaped mass of balls, but for some reason I don’t want to ask. I’ll look stupid.
I know a moment later, as the cue ball hits the tip of the diamond and the balls scatter with a loud crack , that she expected to win the game against my brother. And I know she’s going to win this one. She sinks four balls before I get a chance to try at all.
She looks up at me, a triumphant, cocky grin on her face. “It’s all yours.”
I nod, circling the table and studying the balls. I’m just hoping to get one shot off without looking too dumb.
I lean over, staring down the cue ball for all I’m worth. Then I slide the stick back and let loose. The cue ball streaks across the table, smacking into a group of other balls.
The eight ball careens across the table, then drops into the corner pocket.
“Woohoo,” I say, fist-pumping.
“You just lost,” Zoey says. “And clearly you have no idea how to play pool.”
“Oh.” I glance back at the table. Obviously I should have inquired about the rules first. We’ve only had the table for six months, and I’m terrible at it since Liam never wants to play me.
“I’m going to go sit on the deck,” I say. “You can come out if you want.”
Outside, I stand at the railing, staring across the darkened waters at Brown’s Point—still technically Tacoma, but the jagged edge of Puget Sound separates the two ends of town. Houses blaze light across the darkness, nothing more than tiny pricks of light in the distance.
Zoey doesn’t follow. I don’t even know if I want her to, but as I sit out here in the dark, listening to her laugh at something Liam must’ve said, I feel … lonely.
I don’t know if it’s how Ava is getting more wrapped up in Ayden lately, or how Liam’s pulling away, or the fact that we haven’t seen our parents in almost a month … But I can’t seem to shake this shade of emptiness.
Ava and I used to connect on everything. We used to talk about our first crushes, our parents’ fights, and everything in between.
I scowl out at the water. It makes me feel small. That’s why I’m thinking these melancholy thoughts. I always feel introspective when I stare out at the bay.
“Contemplating your plans to solve world hunger?” Zoey says into the darkness.
I glance back, surprised she’s come outside, with a glass in her hand that’s filled with ice cubes and something dark.
“Something like that.”
“Why don’t you ever have friends over when I’m here?”
“Liam and I are friends.”
“I mean, besides your brother.”
“Ava’s busy.”
“Ava’s seriously your only friend?” Zoey asks, and the surprise is evident in her voice.
“You already knew that,” I say, “or you wouldn’t have issued that little challenge.”
“I mean, I knew you didn’t have some enormous group of friends, but I figured you had more than Ava.”
I feel my cheeks warm, and I hate it. “Why the hell do you care?”
That shuts her up for a second. Her lips press into a thin line. When she finally speaks, her voice is icy. “I’d rather have no friends than the artificial, backstabbing one you call a best friend.”
“Oh, so that’s what you’re getting at. It’s not about me at all, is it? You don’t like Ava.”
“Of course I don’t like Ava. Don’t be stupid.”
“You don’t even know her,” I say, gripping the railing harder.
“Don’t I? Go ask Ava about freshman year, then.”
“She had nothing to do with that,” I say, anger rising. “It was all you.”
“She has everything to do with
Similar Books
