Read Online Sanctuary by Alan Janney - Free Book Online Page B

some of the hair out of her face. “Cheer up! It’ll be aces. Where are you staying?”
    “None of your business.”
    I said, “She’s staying with me.”
    Samantha sighed and rolled her eyes. She was frustrated to the point of tears.
    Croc grinned. “With you? But you’re holding hands with the exotic sheila,” he said and he indicated Katie.
    “Croc,” Samantha said, completely exasperated. “They aren’t together. She’s got a boyfriend. Some other guy.”
    “I could tell that immediately. But why is she holding his hand?”
    “Because he loves her and she’s conflicted. Stop asking questions.”
    He examined all of us curiously and said, “Wow. What a confusing scrum.”
    “Come with me,” she said, grabbing him by the jacket and hauling him away. “We need to talk.”
    I watched them go and said, “This is so cool.”
    Katie beamed. “He called me exotic.”
     
----
     
    Katie was already in my kitchen when I returned home from quarterback camp. The house smelled like curry chicken and sizzling peppers. She handed me a sweet tea and said, “Change your shirt. You’re disgusting.”
    “You look a lot better in that apron than my dad does,” I observed.
    “I’m glad you noticed.”
    “Are you wearing tighter clothes now? Or do you just fill them out better than you used to?”
    “Hey!” she laughed. “You can not ask me that.”
    “You’re still very trim,” I said, and her face turned red as I examined her. “But now you’ve got these great curves…”
    “Chase!” she cried and she flung a red pepper at me. I sat down and we talked.
    Katie was lined up to be one of our valedictorians, and her schedule this coming semester was brutal. We didn’t have any classes together, which would make the next few months less enjoyable, but once again our lunch periods matched, along with Cory and Lee.
    Just for fun I asked her if the Outlaw had visited, and she glowered at me. The Outlaw had visited her (twice) at the beginning of the calendar year, a fact she revealed only after growing irritated with the man in the mask. She hadn’t heard from the Outlaw since he rescued her in March and she was peeved.
    I am the Outlaw. And I would tell her soon. I hadn’t told her in the past because I didn’t think she’d believe me and because Tank had threatened to hurt her if I blabbed.
    Tank woke up from his coma a different man. He’d always been intense and prone to anger, but now he bordered on being unhinged. He was never violent towards Katie, and in fact seemed more deeply attached to her than ever, or so she told me. I pretended to vomit. And I almost did authentically. But now Tank would go through periods of rage and dementia, which the doctors said would eventually go away. But I knew otherwise; Tank was Infected, just like me, and the disease had permanently altered him.
    “He hates you, Chase,” she said at one point. She was cooking tortillas in the frying pan and she stopped momentarily. “I mean…really hates you.”
    “Do you know why?”
    She shook her head and said, “No. Tank is very proud, though. He gets that from his parents. Everyone is beneath him. I think maybe it’s because he’s not threatened by anyone, except you.”
    “That makes sense.”
    “You offend his superiority.”
    I asked, “Do you enjoy this characteristic of his? You used to value kindness, not arrogance.”
    “Tank is very charismatic. He’s engaging and fascinating, and his pride is part of that.”
    “How can you date someone that hates me?” I asked. “I’m so lovable.”
    Katie didn’t answer but she didn’t have to. I knew. She started dating him while I was dating Hannah, a colossal mistake on my part. She was with Tank because he had pursued her in a way that I hadn’t. But I was determined to never make that mistake again.
    “Do you ever think about Hannah?” she asked a moment later.
    “I just was, actually.”
    “It’s been five months since she died,” she said, the