Read Online Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone - Free Book Online Page A

then?”
    “I don’t know,” he said. He pulled his phone out, dialing. “Kota,” he said. “Mr. Morris is still here.” Nathan angled his head around, looking up and down the road. “Don’t worry. We’ll be boring.” He hung up.
    “He’s watching us?
    “Maybe. Or he’s pretending to do his job when he isn’t really. Mr. Morris should take a hint, following us is pointless.” He sighed and tugged me. “Come on.”
    I trailed behind Nathan further into the house, finally noticing how tight his red T-shirt was around his shoulders. He’d worn that same shirt a couple of weeks ago. Was it shrinking? Or was his frame getting bulkier? Standing behind him, I felt immensely smaller than before.
    “Oy,” called Gabriel from within the house. “Is that her?”
    “Yeah,” Nathan said as he rounded the corner. I followed him into the kitchen.
    Gabriel was behind the island. His blond locks looked freshly parted and combed, styled against the russet. His school blazer, shirt and tie were gone, and he wore only the white ribbed undershirt and the slacks. The cotton clung to his lean, muscular form, and while I meant to look up at his face, I couldn’t stop gazing at his body.
    Gabriel looked at Nathan, cocking an eyebrow. “Are these mashed potatoes supposed to look so ... wet?”
    Nathan hurried to the stovetop. “I thought you could read directions.”
    Gabriel picked up the box of instant mashed potato mix and scanned. “It said add all this milk. I don’t think the measurements are right. I added the flakes and now it’s almost soup.”
    I stepped up next to Gabriel, glancing into the pot. “It just needs a few more flakes.”
    “Are you sure?” Nathan asked.
    “You should listen to her,” Gabriel said. “She can cook.”
    I stirred the pot. “The flakes will poof out after a minute.” I measured another half cup of flakes, and dropped them into the pot. “It’s not really an exact science. If this makes it too thick, you just add a little more milk until you get it right.”
    Gabriel dropped the box of flakes onto the counter. “We should have just eaten out tonight. But anyway, come check it out.” He took my hand, leading me to the fridge, opening it to show me the stocked shelves. “Coffee, bananas, strawberries,” he said. It wasn’t everything they had in the fridge, just what he pointed out. “And we got one of those new fancy blenders. We’re going to make smoothies in the morning.”
    “With coffee?” I asked with a smile. It was the way he said it that was funny.
    His eyes widened “Aw shit. I didn’t even think about that.”
    “You can’t make coffee smoothies,” Nathan said.
    “Sure you can,” Gabriel said. “It’s just adding like a banana and maybe some ice to those Frappuccinos.” He shut the fridge and turned to the counter, snapping up a bottle of pills. He pushed on the cap to open it, and shook out one. “Here,” he said, holding it up to me. “Take one.”
    “Vitamins?” I asked, taking it from his hand. I knew Dr. Green wanted me to take these, but I’d never had them before. The pill looked huge, like it was meant for a horse rather than a person. Nathan filled a glass of water for me. I swallowed the pill down. Barely.
    Gabriel shook the bottle in his hand, making the pills rattle. “It’s supposed to be a good brand. And it’s marked for women so I guess that’s even better. I should probably make you take two.”
    “She needs to eat real food,” Nathan said. He bent over, examining the contents inside the oven. “This chicken should be done in a bit.”
    “Come on, Trouble,” Gabriel tugged me by the hand again. Nathan shot me a look like I didn’t have to let him pull me around like that if I didn’t want. I didn’t mind. Gabriel didn’t get a chance to see me as much as Nathan or the others, so any chance we had to be together, I wanted to make sure to take full advantage of it.
    Gabriel guided me to Nathan’s bedroom and started