Read Online Star Shack by Lila Castle - Free Book Online Page B

with me, burning bright on dark winter nights and keeping me warm and protected from the cold. I’m lost without that.
    The tears have started again, sliding wet and salty down my cheeks. I don’t bother to wipe them away because more will come. The supply seems endless at this point.
    ***
    I wake up in the late afternoon and see something unusual out the window: sun. Wow. My eyes feel puffy and inflamed, and my stomach is sour from not eating since dinner last night. And the knowledge of Pete’s disinterest weighs heavy on my chest, threatening to crush the air out of me all over again.
    â€œAnnabelle?” my mom calls, knocking on the door of my room. “Sweetie, are you okay? You’ve been in there all day.”
    I wish Mom had Gabe and Grandma Hillary or even some kind of summer preschool emergency to distract her from me. I clear my throat and try to make my voice sound as normal as possible. “Yeah, just getting some work done,” I say. My mom is good about not coming into my room unless invited, so hopefully she’ll think I’ve been reading astrology books all day or getting an early start on college applications.
    â€œWe’re going to have a cookout for dinner since the weather is good, and I was thinking you and I could go pick up some clams and mussels from Uncle Joe’s,” she says. Uncle Joe’s has the best fresh seafood in Gingerbread, maybe even on the planet. “But I don’t want to interrupt if you’re…busy. Or in a groove.”
    My cheek is resting against my pillow—still stained with wet spots from my tears. My pajamas are starting to sag from being worn too long, and my face is tight and raw. Really, there’s no groove in sight.
    â€œYeah, I think I’ll pass,” I manage.
    â€œOkay,” she says. “Oh, and invite Pete to join us. If you want, I can call his parents and invite them all.”
    â€œNo!” I bolt upright in bed. “I mean…his mom has a tight deadline, so I think the phone would disturb them. And Pete is, um, sick so he can’t make it either.”
    â€œWhat a shame he’s sick on such a beautiful day,” my mom says. “But I guess that explains why you’ve been locked in your room all day.”
    Yes. It does. How convenient.
    â€œI’ll get some corn too,” she adds, and I hear her start down the stairs.
    â€œGreat,” I call, sinking back down into the pillows. I glance outside. It is beautiful, but honestly I wish it were raining. The bright sun feels mocking.
    I roll over on one side and notice my laptop and the stack of worn astrology books on my nightstand. I am feeling hostile toward them since astrology is the cause of my fight with Pete…but is it really? No, I remind myself: the root cause is Pete being a stubborn snob.
    I reach for my computer and log in to my favorite site, www.yourlifeiswritteninthestars.net, the one that has my birth chart on file so it’s always extremely accurate about what’s going on in my life at the moment. My laptop battery is low, but hopefully there’s enough juice for me to get some insight into what is happening—and better yet, how I can fix it.
    The screen dissolves into a horoscope: This week is a week for business! It’s time to ask for that promotion, put your nose to the grindstone with that big project, or start that small business you’ve been dreaming about.
    Okay, so not helpful. Though I shouldn’t be surprised—yesterday’s reading gave no notice that my world was about to explode. But seriously, business notes when my heart has been crushed to a pulp?
    My phone vibrates with a text message. It’s from Vanessa. I hear my dad stroll out to the front porch that overlooks the water to begin setting up the grill for the cookout. I turn over and close my eyes. I’m not up to dealing with any of it.
    ***
    â€œI’m outside, I promise,” I tell