Read Online Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) by Christina Smith - Free Book Online Page A

end this conversation, I texted her one
last time: Since
your boyfriend and his friends threatened me, I no longer want to hang out with
any of you.
    It worked. She didn’t answer, although I knew I would
hear from her eventually.
    Class ended and I was thrilled when I saw Nate leaning
against a locker waiting for me. I smiled at him. “Hi.” With the new knowledge
of my feelings, it was hard for me to hide them.
    His brow creased in confusion when he saw my
expression. “Hi. You ready?”
    “ Mm hmm .”
    “Let’s go,” he said, looking at me strangely.
    On our way to class we saw Lauren Riley. She seemed
extremely surprised to see us together. She waved at her friends Allison Avery
and Lily Kendal and then stopped in front of me. “Hi, Megan, how are you?”
    It was a little odd that she was talking to me. Our
conversations usually consisted of a smile and a nod, at most, a quick hi. “Hi,
Lauren.” There was a silence as Lauren glanced at Nate with a wide grin.
    “Let’s go,” Nate mumbled, leading me away.
    I turned around and saw Lauren standing where we had
left her, that grin still on her face. I glanced up at Nate. “What was that
about?”
    He shrugged, staring straight ahead. “How should I
know? She was talking to you.”
    We entered geography just as Miss Wilkinson was
calling the class to order. Nate took an empty seat two rows away instead of
his usual seat on the other side of the classroom. During the lesson, I peeked
at him a few times, but he was always looking ahead, listening to the teacher.
     
    After school Nate met me at my locker. “I think I’m
fine,” I told him. “You don’t have to escort me everywhere.”
    “Yes, I do. They threatened you. You need to take this
seriously.”
    I slammed my locker door shut. A metallic clang rang
out that echoed down the hall. “Fine, let’s go then.” I followed him to the
parking lot.
    “Are you sure you’re fine?” he asked, pointing to my
car. Mouth open, I circled the vehicle. Every single tire was slashed. I looked
up to see who was around.
    Mandy and the rest of them were standing at Shane’s
SUV laughing. Well, Mandy wasn’t. She was watching me with a look of concern on
her face.
    Nate glared at them so intensely, I thought I heard
him growl.
    “Come on, drive me home.” I pulled him away, not really
knowing where I was going since I didn’t know where he parked. His anger only
grew as we took a few steps away. “Where is your car?”
    He pointed to the black convertible I had seen at
Riley House. I dragged him toward it. I knew that if I didn’t get him away from
them, he would start a fight. I had never seen him so enraged.
     
    “Are you volunteering tonight?” I asked him after we
had been driving for a while.
    His anger had somewhat diminished, his body was still
rigid and he was quiet, but his eyes no longer held the rage they had earlier.
“No. I was supposed to, but after today I thought I might hang out with you if
that’s okay.”
    Nothing would make me happier. “Sure.” I reached down
to change the radio station, hoping to hide the joy that was surely showing on
my face. “Although if you want, we can both volunteer, I enjoy it. I’m really
sorry about what happened Friday night, but I’m glad I got a chance to go to
Riley’s and meet all those people.” He didn’t look at me as I spoke, just
focused on the road ahead. “When I gave those women my old clothes that I never
wear, they were so happy. It made me feel like I belonged somewhere. And I’ve
never felt that way before.”
    He finally turned his head and gazed at me. His face
was more relaxed. All the anger had slipped away. “You’re not close with your
family?”
    I laughed darkly. “No, I’m not. I’ve never had a real
family. Instead of love and companionship, they give me cars, clothes and all
the latest technology. All I want is to have a real relationship with them, but
it will never happen. I gave up trying years ago. At least