Read Online Tell Me When by Stina Lindenblatt - Free Book Online Page B

keeping my eyes and ears open to anything unusual. And not for the first time, I wish I could run outside instead of being forced to use the treadmill. I used to do it all the time. This was my favorite time to run, when the world is fairly quiet, and it was just me and Emma and Trent.
    Since it’s Saturday morning, the gym is quieter than normal. I select a treadmill and start running, pushing myself harder than usual, if that’s even possible. After a few minutes, sweat drips down my face and back. My legs and lungs burn, a sensation I welcome. It means I’m alive.
    “Hey, you’re here early.” Even at six in the morning, Jordan’s smiling.
    “I woke...up early.” I attempt a smile. I really am happy to see her. It’s just my brain, as well as my leg and face muscles, are all fighting for the same limited supply of oxygen. “Figured...you’d sleep...in.”
    Jordan’s smile vanishes and her gaze drops to my treadmill console. “What’s going on?”
    “What...do you mean?”
    “You’re supposed to be able to talk when you run. Why are you running so fast?”
    “I just...felt like it.” And I don’t want to stop .
    “I can tell when you’re upset. You always push yourself way too hard on the treadmill. So what gives?”
    And once again, I’m shocked that this girl, who I haven’t known for long, who I’m keeping secrets from, cares enough about me to notice something’s wrong. And that makes me smile inside, even if my muscles can’t replicate the effect on my face.
    “It’s...nothing. I was...thinking about...math test.”
    Jordan climbs onto the treadmill next to me. I slow my pace. She’ll want to talk while running, and I can’t do that, breathe, and run at the same time. I’m having a hard enough time with the last two as it is.
    “Wish I could help you with your math.” She lets out a long, loud breath. “But I can’t.”
    “Why not?” I ask. She’s never mentioned that she’s struggling in her course. And if she’s pre-med, she must have the same math requirements. It would only make sense.
    She focuses her attention on the treadmill, pretending it’s the most fascinating thing around. She presses Start and increases the speed until she’s running just a pace slower than me. “I told you I want to be a child psychologist, right?”
    I nod. “You did, but you said your parents want you to be a physician.”
    “A surgeon,” she corrects.
    “O-kay. So what does that have to do with you not being able to help me with math?”
    She shrugs, a sheepish expression on her face. “I can’t help you ’cause I’m taking algebra not pre-calculus.”
    “What, you don’t need calculus for pre-med?” I don’t see the fairness in that if I require it for pre-vet.
    She shrugs, again. “I’m not exactly taking pre-med courses. I’m taking courses for a psych degree.”
    I almost stop running and fall off the treadmill. “Do your parents know?” From the first day we met, she told me she was going into medicine, like I told her I was going to be a vet.
    She shakes her head.
    “Are you planning to tell them?”
    Again, she shakes her head.
    “Never? Won’t they figure out you’re not a physician at some point?”
    “Yeah, I guess. But you don’t know my parents, Amber. My family. Everyone, including my brother and sister, went into medicine. My parents will be furious.”
    “Even if it means you’re doing what you want to do?” Something that won’t cause her to faint or puke, which isn’t the case with medicine.
    “My parents aren’t like yours,” she says, oblivious to the truth about mine. “Mine will be disappointed in me, and I can’t handle that.”
    “I know what you mean. My mom wanted me to enter the family business, too, and be a lawyer.” But surely Jordan’s parents wouldn’t turn their backs on her. Not if they know how much child psychology means to her. At least Mom didn’t say I couldn’t be a vet. She just pointed out that corporate lawyers