Read Online Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone - Free Book Online Page B

it’s not nearly as nice as this.”
    â€œHow did you know where I was?” I asked, ignoring her attempt at conversation. She picked at the grass, which made me notice her dress. Which made me notice all that smooth skin, because the dress was definitely on the short side. And here I thought church girls always dressed like old ladies.
    â€œYour mom told me you might be here. She said that when you got upset, you liked to come to this place.”
    â€œYeah, well, my mom should just keep her mouth shut,” I retorted angrily.
    â€œReally?” Everly asked. “She’s your mom. She’s supposed to be up in your business.”
    â€œWhatever,” I muttered. “I’m sick of it. All of it. The doctors who keep telling me things are looking up and then bam, a seizure. I’m sick of how scared my parents are every time I leave the house. How my dad likes to pretend that things are the way they were before when they’re not. Nothing is ever going to be the same again. I’ll never be the same again.”
    I had to stop talking, because I could barely catch my breath. The anger inside me was leveling off, but it left me jumpy.
    Silence filled the space between us, and then she spoke softly. “Are you okay?”
    â€œYou’re joking, right?” I asked, a nasty tone to my voice.
    Everly shook her head. “No.” Her voice lowered. “No, I’m not.”
    â€œEverly, I’m so far from all right that I wouldn’t recognize it if it came up to me and said hello.” I paused, frowning. “I was almost there. I thought there was a chance, you know?” I sighed. “But now I’m the guy who had a seizure in the library.”
    I glanced up and found her dark blue eyes settled on me. I wanted to look away, because this girl was freaking me out a little. It felt as if she could see inside me, and with all the crap going on in my world, there was a lot of stuff I didn’t want anyone to know.
    I yanked on some more grass and tossed a handful into the air, feeling more of the anger leave me as the blades fell back to the ground. “I like to go to the football field and watch the cheerleaders practice too.”
    â€œExcuse me?” she asked.
    â€œWhen I don’t come here. Sometimes I’d rather watch a bunch of girls jumping around than a pack of swans swimming across the lake.”
    A hint of a smile twisted the corner of her mouth, and for the first time today, I felt a little bit of lightness.
    â€œShe did say that as well, but I was pretty sure you were here.”
    â€œOh yeah? Why is that?”
    â€œBecause school’s out and there is no cheerleading practice.”
    Right. I didn’t answer but focused on the swans.
    â€œAbout Thursday,” she said softly.
    â€œI don’t want to talk about it.”
    A pause.
    â€œOkay. But we’re still going to study, right? I’ll see you on Monday?”
    I shrugged. At the moment I didn’t want to do anything but stare across the water and wallow in being a lame and sorry ass. A few more moments of silence passed, and I began to think about what had just happened. And with those thoughts came a bit of shame.
    â€œI guess you’re probably not used to the kind of scene you just saw at my house.” I watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction. She tucked a long piece of hair behind her ear and chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds. I’d noticed it before, but man, the girl had a nice mouth.
    â€œYou’d be surprised,” she whispered.
    â€œReally?” I somehow doubted that. The Jenkinses were the poster family for Pleasantville, USA.
    â€œReally,” she repeated, turning fully so that she was facing me. She was inches away, and that sweet summer smell was all over me. I had to give Everly props for making me totally forget the reason I was out here in the first place, because right now, in this moment, all