Read Online The Broken Curse by Taylor Lavati - Free Book Online Page A

asks, looking up from his dark lashes. I look to Ari who just looks straight at me, as if asking me the same question.  
    "Yeah. We are going to war."
    "You don't sound so sure," Cristos teases.
    "Leave her be." Ari steps in front of me, territorial-like. "She can make her own choices, and we have to respect them."
    "Really?" I narrow my eyes on Ari. "Like how you've already been finding people for said army?"
    "Wha—How?"  
    "You forget I get these things called dreams. I may have seen an exchange between you and Professor Onassis."
    "You really should stop spying," Ari chides, running his hand up my back to my neck. My entire body erupts with goose bumps, his touch an icicle against my skin.
    "I didn't mean to! It just came to me."
    " Right ." Cristos exaggerates the word, his skepticism clear. I grab a piece of lettuce from the counter and chuck it at him, but he easily dodges my attack.  
    Before I know it, a piece of ham is catapulted towards my face. I use Ari as a shield and hide behind his towering form. Unlucky for him, the flying meat nails him in the face.
    "Can we not make a mess of my kitchen?"
    "Soften up, will you?" Cristos says, taking a piece of ham and eating it from the bag of cold cuts. I grab onto Ari's hand and lead him to the counter, and we both sit down across from Cristos.
    "Have you spoken to your brother?" Ari asks. The atmosphere seems to change almost instantly the second the words are out of Ari's mouth. I look at Cristos. His body stiffens.
    "No. Orpheus has though."
    "Is he coming?" Ari questions.
    "No."

    I leave Ari's house soon after the strange exchange between him and Cristos. I feel like they need some time to talk one on one, and I was just getting in the way. It's too late to go to Professor Onassis and tell her that I'm okay with creating the army. So, I head back to the dorms instead.
    I sprint up the stairs and go straight into my dorm room. I don't have a key and, luckily, it's unlocked. It's dark in the room, and strangely quiet, so I flick on the light right beside the door.  
    Kara screams from her side of the room, and I jump back in alarm. Immediately, I see Kara and Junior, completely naked. I scream and slam my eyes shut, covering them with my hands just to make sure that I don't see anything.  
    Luckily, I know the room like the back of my hand. With my eyes shut, I use my back to follow the wall to the bathroom. I can't see a thing, but I can hear their panting and my stomach rolls with disgust. This is a nightmare.  
    "I'm going to take a shower!" I yell as I quickly uncover my eyes, face the bathroom, and slam the door shut behind me. I turn on the shower so that it drowns out the noises that most likely will start to come from my bedroom.
    I take an excruciatingly long shower, knowing that I don't want to go back into my room any time soon. With nobody else on campus, there's plenty of hot water to go around, and from being on the hard bench all day, my back is a little sore.  
    I soak my body with extra soap. I lather it in my pores. I wash my hair twice with shampoo and then once with conditioner, actually leaving it in for a minute like the bottle says to. My fingers are raisins by the time I shut the water off. I actually feel faint from the hot steam.
    When I get out of the shower, I grab a pair of pajamas from the bottom drawer of the bathroom where I keep a spare, and then knock on the bathroom door to alert my friends that I'm coming back.
    "Is it clear?" I ask as I wiggle the handle, not leaving anything up to chance. I want to make sure that they know I'm coming and dress appropriately. I don't want to see Junior naked again for the rest of my life.
    "Yes!" Kara yells back.  
    I go into the room, peeking only my head in to make sure it's clear. Kara is sitting on her bed, her legs crossed over each other, her makeup and hair back to their perfect state. Kara's cheeks have a light blush to them: embarrassed from me walking in on them or the vigorous