Read Online The Rules for Breaking by Ashley Elston - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ashley Elston
Tags: Fiction
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Thomas before we come home.
We’re so relieved by this news that another few days seems like no big deal.
Well, to everyone except Emma.
Mr. Landry and Dad both use the phone to check in back home. Dad asks for a little more time off of work and Mr. Landry talks to Will’s dad, who is his partner in the farm. Luckily for him, this is the slow time of year; crops won’t be planted for a few weeks so it’s not a bad time for him to be gone. Ethan, Emma, Teeny, and I will have a ridiculous amount of schoolwork to make up, but if it means we get to stay in Natchitoches, it will be worth it.
Ethan is wrestling with the clothes in the laundry room when I poke my head back in.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Mom assigned me dirty clothes duty today.” He holds up one of Emma’s bras. “Sister or not, this is uncomfortable.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You want to do laundry or hang out with me?”
“Hmm…let me think….” He’s pulling me out of the laundry room before he even finishes. “You. Definitely want to be with you.” He leans in close and whispers, “I’ve got an idea that can get us out of our chores.”
We pass Mrs. Landry in the kitchen. Ethan says, “We’re going for a walk. I’ve got a gun and we won’t be long. I’m giving Anna another shooting lesson. Warn Dad and Mr. Boyd in case they hear us.”
She nods, and replies, “Don’t be too long. It’ll be dark soon.”
It’s close to dusk when we plunge through the thick brush into the woods. It’s hard to navigate with all the down trees and stumps, but each step we take away from the camp, the better I feel.
We get far enough from the camp to feel alone but not so far that I can’t find my way back. It’s quiet except for the few birds we spook as we crunch along the ground. Ethan finally stops, so I find a tree stump and sit down, pulling my knees up.
When Ethan drops down in front of me, he’s holding the same small gun I fired at the farm in one hand and several bullets in the other.
“Do you remember how to load this?”
I’m nervous and excited looking down at it. A group of birds takes off from the ground a few feet behind me, startling me, and I almost fall off the stump.
“Maybe you’re not ready for this again. I should have asked you first. We can go back to the camp.”
He gets up and I pull him back down. “Wait. I want to try it again. Just give me a minute.”
Ethan places the gun in my outstretched hand. I feel sweaty even though it’s cold outside. The gun is heavy and all I can think about is how loud and scary it is when fired.
We sit in silence for a few minutes. All of those awful images of Brandon and his dad threaten to return, but I control my breathing and force them away.
“Just sit there a minute. I’m going to find a stick or something we can use as a target.” He stands, and searches the ground.
I flex my fingers over the gun, trying to get used to the feel of it.
“This’ll work,” he says and lifts a small piece of wood in the air. He takes a step toward me then grabs his left shoulder with his right hand. He stands there a moment, a dazed look on his face, before he crumples to the ground, hitting it with a thud.
I race to where he is. “Ethan! Ethan!”
Shaking him does nothing. He’s out. Completely unconscious.
Oh my God!
Did he hit his head? I feel around but nothing, no blood, no bumps. I gauge the distance back to the camp and decide to run for help. It’s close to dark and if I wait much longer, it will be too hard to find him here on the ground.
I jump up and slam into something hard but warm. Hands form steel bands around my upper arms and the face I hoped and prayed never to see again comes into focus in front of my eyes.
Thomas.
Rules for disappearing
by Witness Protection prisoner #18A7R04M:
Be paranoid. The best way for the bad guys not to get you is to think the bad guys are always just about to get you.
New rule by Anna Boyd:
Paranoia isn’t
We’re so relieved by this news that another few days seems like no big deal.
Well, to everyone except Emma.
Mr. Landry and Dad both use the phone to check in back home. Dad asks for a little more time off of work and Mr. Landry talks to Will’s dad, who is his partner in the farm. Luckily for him, this is the slow time of year; crops won’t be planted for a few weeks so it’s not a bad time for him to be gone. Ethan, Emma, Teeny, and I will have a ridiculous amount of schoolwork to make up, but if it means we get to stay in Natchitoches, it will be worth it.
Ethan is wrestling with the clothes in the laundry room when I poke my head back in.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Mom assigned me dirty clothes duty today.” He holds up one of Emma’s bras. “Sister or not, this is uncomfortable.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You want to do laundry or hang out with me?”
“Hmm…let me think….” He’s pulling me out of the laundry room before he even finishes. “You. Definitely want to be with you.” He leans in close and whispers, “I’ve got an idea that can get us out of our chores.”
We pass Mrs. Landry in the kitchen. Ethan says, “We’re going for a walk. I’ve got a gun and we won’t be long. I’m giving Anna another shooting lesson. Warn Dad and Mr. Boyd in case they hear us.”
She nods, and replies, “Don’t be too long. It’ll be dark soon.”
It’s close to dusk when we plunge through the thick brush into the woods. It’s hard to navigate with all the down trees and stumps, but each step we take away from the camp, the better I feel.
We get far enough from the camp to feel alone but not so far that I can’t find my way back. It’s quiet except for the few birds we spook as we crunch along the ground. Ethan finally stops, so I find a tree stump and sit down, pulling my knees up.
When Ethan drops down in front of me, he’s holding the same small gun I fired at the farm in one hand and several bullets in the other.
“Do you remember how to load this?”
I’m nervous and excited looking down at it. A group of birds takes off from the ground a few feet behind me, startling me, and I almost fall off the stump.
“Maybe you’re not ready for this again. I should have asked you first. We can go back to the camp.”
He gets up and I pull him back down. “Wait. I want to try it again. Just give me a minute.”
Ethan places the gun in my outstretched hand. I feel sweaty even though it’s cold outside. The gun is heavy and all I can think about is how loud and scary it is when fired.
We sit in silence for a few minutes. All of those awful images of Brandon and his dad threaten to return, but I control my breathing and force them away.
“Just sit there a minute. I’m going to find a stick or something we can use as a target.” He stands, and searches the ground.
I flex my fingers over the gun, trying to get used to the feel of it.
“This’ll work,” he says and lifts a small piece of wood in the air. He takes a step toward me then grabs his left shoulder with his right hand. He stands there a moment, a dazed look on his face, before he crumples to the ground, hitting it with a thud.
I race to where he is. “Ethan! Ethan!”
Shaking him does nothing. He’s out. Completely unconscious.
Oh my God!
Did he hit his head? I feel around but nothing, no blood, no bumps. I gauge the distance back to the camp and decide to run for help. It’s close to dark and if I wait much longer, it will be too hard to find him here on the ground.
I jump up and slam into something hard but warm. Hands form steel bands around my upper arms and the face I hoped and prayed never to see again comes into focus in front of my eyes.
Thomas.
Rules for disappearing
by Witness Protection prisoner #18A7R04M:
Be paranoid. The best way for the bad guys not to get you is to think the bad guys are always just about to get you.
New rule by Anna Boyd:
Paranoia isn’t
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