Read Online The Awakening by K. E. Ganshert - Free Book Online
Authors: K. E. Ganshert
Tags: Fiction
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on the shoulder of the dark highway, our hearts crashing into the silence. When the police car is long out of sight, Luka and I sit back on the seat and Leela pulls onto the road.
We don’t say much after that. We’re all too busy catching our breath. I wish Leela would resume her chattering, but I’m pretty sure the flashing lights gave her a miniature heart attack. My sense of urgency grows. We need as much space between us and Northern California as possible. And yet, with the urgency comes dread. Because what if this car ride is the last time I get to see my friend? What if I never see my family again? I’m used to moving around, but not without them.
By the time Leela pulls into a parking space in the parking lot of Eureka’s Greyhound Bus station, my teeth chatter with nerves.
“Thank you, Leela,” Luka says. He reaches up and gives her shoulder a squeeze, then takes his bag and steps out of the car to give us our privacy, but not before giving me a telling look. We have fifteen minutes to get tickets and catch the bus. We can’t miss it, especially since the next one doesn’t leave until later the next morning. Time is of the essence. Even so, he knows I need to say this goodbye.
Leela shifts around to look at me.
There are so many things I want to say. So many thank you’s I want to give, ones that far exceed what Leela has done for us today. Before her, I didn’t know what it was like to have a friend. She’s the best one I could have ever asked for. With a lump in my throat, I lean forward between the two front seats and wrap my arms around her neck. “I should have told you everything from the beginning.”
She squeezes back. “I understand why you didn’t.”
When we finally let go, her eyes are watery, only there’s no onion in sight. “You’ll be back, okay? Somehow, this will all get worked out and you’ll come back.”
Leela, the eternal optimist.
I want to believe her. So I cling to that hope with everything I’ve got, reach into the front pouch of my backpack, and pull out three letters. One for my mom. One for my dad. One for Pete. “These are for my family. Can you make sure they get them?”
“I will. I promise.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I won’t get caught. I’ll wait until Pete comes back to school and find a way to slip them to him.”
The thought makes me smile. Perhaps this is the silver lining. Maybe this fiasco will bring my best friend and my kid brother together. Maybe Leela will get to know the real Pete, the one unencumbered by darkness. The one who is not moody or taciturn or dark, but the one who is lighthearted and charming and the life of every party. How much more will she fall in love with that Pete? Somehow, with this possibility in mind, it doesn’t feel so much like I’m losing Leela. It feels a little bit like she’s becoming a part of our family. I wrap my arms around her neck again. “Best friends?”
“Always,” she whispers.
After one final squeeze, I climb out of the car and close the door softly behind me. Luka grabs my hand, threading his fingers with mine, and leads me to the ticket booth. I don’t look back.
Chapter Eight
Resurrected Pills
I ’m twenty-one-year-old Lily Evans. He is twenty-five-year-old Jacob Denton. And if anybody asks, we’re running away to New York to elope. I’m supposed to text into the phone Luka purchased from Walgreens and do my best impersonation of bored while he purchases our tickets. The key is hiding my face as much as possible without being obvious about it.
He asks for the tickets to New York City. They are twice as expensive, but we don’t care. If anybody discovers we got onto a Greyhound bus, this will lead them to the east coast. But we will be in Detroit, one of the many stops along the way.
“Identification, please.” The ticket lady is a beady-eyed woman who speaks in an impatient, annoyed voice. Like the customers who keep her employed are one giant
We don’t say much after that. We’re all too busy catching our breath. I wish Leela would resume her chattering, but I’m pretty sure the flashing lights gave her a miniature heart attack. My sense of urgency grows. We need as much space between us and Northern California as possible. And yet, with the urgency comes dread. Because what if this car ride is the last time I get to see my friend? What if I never see my family again? I’m used to moving around, but not without them.
By the time Leela pulls into a parking space in the parking lot of Eureka’s Greyhound Bus station, my teeth chatter with nerves.
“Thank you, Leela,” Luka says. He reaches up and gives her shoulder a squeeze, then takes his bag and steps out of the car to give us our privacy, but not before giving me a telling look. We have fifteen minutes to get tickets and catch the bus. We can’t miss it, especially since the next one doesn’t leave until later the next morning. Time is of the essence. Even so, he knows I need to say this goodbye.
Leela shifts around to look at me.
There are so many things I want to say. So many thank you’s I want to give, ones that far exceed what Leela has done for us today. Before her, I didn’t know what it was like to have a friend. She’s the best one I could have ever asked for. With a lump in my throat, I lean forward between the two front seats and wrap my arms around her neck. “I should have told you everything from the beginning.”
She squeezes back. “I understand why you didn’t.”
When we finally let go, her eyes are watery, only there’s no onion in sight. “You’ll be back, okay? Somehow, this will all get worked out and you’ll come back.”
Leela, the eternal optimist.
I want to believe her. So I cling to that hope with everything I’ve got, reach into the front pouch of my backpack, and pull out three letters. One for my mom. One for my dad. One for Pete. “These are for my family. Can you make sure they get them?”
“I will. I promise.”
“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I won’t get caught. I’ll wait until Pete comes back to school and find a way to slip them to him.”
The thought makes me smile. Perhaps this is the silver lining. Maybe this fiasco will bring my best friend and my kid brother together. Maybe Leela will get to know the real Pete, the one unencumbered by darkness. The one who is not moody or taciturn or dark, but the one who is lighthearted and charming and the life of every party. How much more will she fall in love with that Pete? Somehow, with this possibility in mind, it doesn’t feel so much like I’m losing Leela. It feels a little bit like she’s becoming a part of our family. I wrap my arms around her neck again. “Best friends?”
“Always,” she whispers.
After one final squeeze, I climb out of the car and close the door softly behind me. Luka grabs my hand, threading his fingers with mine, and leads me to the ticket booth. I don’t look back.
Chapter Eight
Resurrected Pills
I ’m twenty-one-year-old Lily Evans. He is twenty-five-year-old Jacob Denton. And if anybody asks, we’re running away to New York to elope. I’m supposed to text into the phone Luka purchased from Walgreens and do my best impersonation of bored while he purchases our tickets. The key is hiding my face as much as possible without being obvious about it.
He asks for the tickets to New York City. They are twice as expensive, but we don’t care. If anybody discovers we got onto a Greyhound bus, this will lead them to the east coast. But we will be in Detroit, one of the many stops along the way.
“Identification, please.” The ticket lady is a beady-eyed woman who speaks in an impatient, annoyed voice. Like the customers who keep her employed are one giant
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