Read Online Paranoia (The Night Walkers) by J. R. Johansson - Free Book Online

of this new world whether I wanted to be or not.
    I’d keep Mom out of it, and the frustration and pain associated with it, as much as I could.
    I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and remembered I’d never called Finn back. When I tugged it out, though, it was Mia’s smiling face that flashed across the screen. I opened her text and stopped chewing my food.
    Had a bad nightmare last night. Miss you more than I thought I would. We should talk when I get back.
    I stared at the message, trying to convince myself that Mia didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Maybe the message was from Addie … actually, I hadn’t heard from Addie since yesterday sometime. Maybe she’d lost her phone and was texting me using Mia’s? Either way, it didn’t make sense for Mia to mean it that way. It wasn’t like that with us. It never had been.
    “Parker, not at the table, please.” The way Mom could combine a happy, lilting voice with eyes that shot daggers was impressive.
    Stuffing the phone back in my pocket, I pushed all the new, unexpected questions out of my head. “Sorry.”
    Mr. Nelson smiled at my mom and I noticed Jack’s gaze harden. What was that about? He had something against Mr. Nelson? This whole dinner situation was just getting weirder, and I was done trying to sort everything out. I ate my last bite and stood up.
    “Thanks for dinner, Mom.” I made certain to meet her gaze, knowing Jack hadn’t told me yet what happened when Watchers got stuck together for the night. “You mind if Jack and I go outside and play basketball for a bit?”
    “Nope, that’s fine. Just please put your dishes in the dishwasher first?”
    “Thank you for dinner,” Jack said to Mom as he followed me into the kitchen.
    “You’re welcome,” she responded, and then I could hear low murmurs as she and Mr. Nelson spoke softly to each other back at the table. After a moment, I heard another soft giggle from her and fought not to groan out loud.
    Yes, getting out of here was a very good plan.
    “I don’t know how to play basketball.” Jack’s words were nearly drowned out by the water I was using to rinse my plate.
    “We’re not playing.” I didn’t look up. “Just taking a few shots.”
    “I don’t really know how to do that either,” he said, his voice still low but sounding strained.
    “You’ve never shot a basketball?” Leaving the water running, I glanced at him over my shoulder but he kept his eyes down.
    “No. I spent a lot of time out in the desert. Not exactly a lot of hoops out there.”
    The desert—so Dad had ended up there. He’d mentioned a few times that it was a great place to get away from people, out into nature. When I’d considered running away, I’d thought that would be a good place to start.
    Turning off the water, I walked out the back door, dug the ball out of a cabinet we kept our sports equipment in, and tossed it at him. “Doesn’t matter. Besides, this seems like a good time to try it out.”
    He caught the ball and held it out in front of him like it was something dangerous. I kept my gaze on the crisscrossing black lines of the ball to make sure I didn’t accidentally look Jack in the eye.
    “Just toss it up. Try to throw it in the hoop.” I nodded toward the basketball stand and bent over to tie my shoes.
    I heard the ball crash into the bushes ten feet behind the basket and Jack cursing under his breath. Then I noticed Darkness hovering in the shadows behind the hoop. He was leaning against a tree and watching us in silence. His mere presence set me on edge more than ever. It was like knowing the floor beneath me was electrified and at any moment someone could flip the switch and fry me.
    Even worse, I was starting to wonder if I’d be stuck with this constant fear forever … if Darkness would ever go away again.
    “Maybe you shoot and I watch.” Jack jogged back with the ball and tossed it to me as I stood back up.
    I shrugged. “As long as you’re still answering my