Read Online Not Your Average Happy Ending by Chantele Sedgwick - Free Book Online Page A

myself and noticed we were in some kind of forest. It was really green and the house really was a big huge tree. The branches and trunk looked like polished wood, even though the tree was obviously alive. A few windows peeked through the leaves and a stairway rose up on the side of the house into what looked like an attic. It was beautiful. And crazy that it was even real. Magic people, banshees that attacked people, tree-houses. What had I gotten myself into?
    Another scream came from inside and Misty covered her ears. I wanted to help her and tell her everything would be fine, but I was trying to keep myself from falling apart.
    There was silence for a moment and I breathed a sigh of relief. I hoped Sam was okay. I was about ready to go back inside when I heard a string of curses come from the house. It was Ash. I’m sure he was getting his shoulder healed.
    I shivered, remembering the pain when Leif healed me. I wondered why healing hurt so bad. You would think it would take all the pain away. But no. It was awful. Something I never ever wanted to do again.
    He swore again and I smiled. At least he wasn’t screaming like Sam was. Cursing meant he was coherent.
    Misty sat down on the porch and wrapped her arms around her knees. “This sucks.”
    I sat down next to her. “Tell me about it.”
    “I thought I was over him. Obviously I’m not.” She put her face in her hands. “I’m such an idiot. I hate boys. I’m sure human boys aren’t this complicated.”
    I snorted. Right.
    I didn’t want to break it to her though, so I kept quiet. Ash swore again, making us both jump. “At least Sam doesn’t have a potty mouth,” I muttered.
    She laughed. “I’m sure he would have been swearing too if he wouldn’t have been hallucinating. And Ash doesn’t usually swear, so he must be hurting pretty bad.”
    “I know. I’ve only heard him like twice.”
    The door opened then and Misty and I jumped to our feet. Ash stepped through the doorway, looking much better than before. He wasn’t pale anymore and his shoulder seemed fine. He looked tired though. He reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “You okay?”
    I nodded. “I am now.”
    “Sam’s asleep inside if you want to go check on him,” Ash said to Misty. He put a hand on her shoulder. “He’s going to be fine. He keeps asking for pancakes for some reason.”
    Judging by the grin on his face, I was positive he knew how Misty felt about Sam.
    “Thanks, Ash.” She blushed and gave me a small smile before going inside.
    “Walk with me?” Ash asked.
    “Sure.”
    “Are you really okay?” I asked as he led me down the porch steps.
    “I’m fine. Promise. Leif is a dang good healer, so don’t worry about me.”
    “You could have fooled me with your potty mouth in there.”
    He snorted. “Sometimes the only word you can think of is a swear word.” His cheeks reddened. “Sorry about that.”
    I laughed and squeezed his hand.
    He led me down a path surrounded by trees. The trees were so close together it looked like we were in a tunnel. The canopy was so thick I couldn’t see the sky above. “I wanted to show you something,” he said, stopping in front of a row of trees. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, since there weren’t any big openings to go through.
    He placed his hand on the tree trunk closest to him and it glowed before making an opening big enough for us to walk through. I looked up at him and he winked before pulling me into the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. It was a small clearing full of flowers of every different color I could imagine. My mouth dropped open at the beauty of it all, and Ash chuckled. “I told you my world was green and full of flowers.”
    “It’s beautiful.”
    He shrugged. “It’s better than a bunch of rocks and dirt I guess.”
    I nudged him with my shoulder. “You guess?” I reached out, touching the petal of a huge white flower in front of me. It was as big as a pumpkin, but delicate and thin. I