Read Online The Academy - Friends vs. Family by C. L. Stone - Free Book Online Page A

his eyes and the rest of
his brown hair mussed. He left the door to the attic open. He dropped on top of
my bed and spread out a little.
    “Go,” Mr. Blackbourne said.
    Gabriel leapt from the bed, dropped behind the bookshelf, slid
across the floor and quietly shut the attic door behind himself as he crawled
in.
    “Horrible,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “You’re not fast enough.”
    “Oy,” Gabriel called from the attic. He opened the door again, letting
it swing and drift across the carpet until it stopped. “You try it.”
    “You still need a security signal,” Kota said.
    “We could just put a better lock on her door. One they can’t open
with a push pin,” Gabriel said, crawling out of the space again.
    I shook my head. Kota seemed to read my mind and knew the answer
to this. “It’d be ideal but it probably won’t happen. They’d notice a new
lock.”
    Victor appeared in the doorway, his eyebrow going up at the
rearranged furniture. “Mr. Blackbourne,” he said. “You should come see.”
    I shot a questioning look at Victor but he waved his hand at me. I
wasn’t supposed to go along.
    Mr. Blackbourne crossed the room, passing me closer than he really
needed to. I could smell his spring soap scent. “Stay,” he commanded of me in a
low voice.
    I rubbed at my eyebrow, feeling awkward. Mr. Blackbourne
temporarily grounded me to my room.
    “Trouble,” Gabriel said. He leaned off the bed so he could grab my
hand. “Come show me the platform in the back.”
    I sighed. “We need a flashlight.”
    Kota pulled a set of keys from his pocket, Attached was a metallic
green flashlight. He unhooked the light from the keychain and handed it to me.
“Don’t hurt yourself in there.”
    “Hey,” Gabriel said, pouting his lips in a way that made my heart
melt. “You didn’t say that to me.”
    Kota waved him off and strolled out of the room and down the
stairs.
    I walked around the bed toward the open attic door. Gabriel got on
his knees behind me, ready to follow. I flicked on the flashlight and crawled
on my knees through the attic space. Gabriel left the door open, shuffling
behind me. He had another flashlight on, attached to his own keys and was
shining it around the space, looking at the exposed beams of the house and the
insulation.
    I crawled inside about ten feet and found the platform in the
back. I pointed the flashlight back to him to get his attention, swinging the
light so he could see the one beam of wood that cut through the middle of the
opening. I slipped between the beam and the wall, angling myself in. The
platform space was as big as a closet, with enough room above our heads to
stand up fully if we wanted.
    Gabriel put his flashlight between his teeth and angled himself
in. He got in on his knees, and sat down, crossing his legs. He sought my hand
in the dark and tugged until I nearly fell into his lap. He held me with one
arm around my waist, while he shined the flashlight around, checking how high
the ceiling went. “You call us from here?”
    “Yes,” I whispered. “I think it’s above the laundry room.” I swallowed,
the air was so dry and hot, I felt my throat getting scratchy again. My hands
were pressed against his chest as he held me close. I squirmed, twisting to see
where he was looking.
    A playful chop landed on my head. “Stop wriggling.” He pulled his cellphone
out. “We need Luke.”
    “Why?”
    Gabriel ignored me, pressing the phone to his ear. “Oy Luke, get
up here to Sang’s attic. Have you been back here? Come check this out.”
    A moment later, there was scuffling on the other side of the
attic. I swung the flashlight around to help Luke find his way along. Gabriel
did the same, casting us into darkness. I sensed his face close to mine and I
held my breath, unsure of what he was doing. His tongue met my skin and he
licked from my jaw to my cheek. I choked out a squeal, poking him in the
stomach out of surprise. He lurched forward, laughing.
    Luke popped his