Read Online Unsound: A Horizons Book by Ashley Summers - Free Book Online Page A

inside. I got caught. They knew I was a foster kid, threw me in jail for the night. My foster family didn’t want me back so after I spent about a week in juvie, I was sent here.”
    “How did you end up at this place though?” I asked, confused. On our trip, my mother reminded me often how expensive this place was. She wanted to make sure I felt properly indebted.
    “Well,” Jason started, scratching his head, “it’s kind of ironic, but an old foster family made the suggestion and funded this little home for me. Maybe they felt guilty.”
    “Home?” I said, not hiding my tone of surprise, “wow. You have really changed. Calling someplace home? You never tried to get out of here? Never tried to run?”
    “Over a dozen times,” Jason responded seriously.
    I looked at my old friend and his serious face, and laughed. The first real laugh I had laughed since he was gone. He looked at me confused.
    “You are… definitely different, Davies….” I didn’t know what to say to his comment. It was true. I had been very happy when I was around Jason a couple years ago. Having him in my life really helped get me through all the problems I had with my parents. But I was broken now. I was different.
    “I don’t know, it was just…different when you left. All at once,” I said, purposely keeping it vague. I wasn’t necessarily going to let Jason back in just because he was there. I wasn’t as naïve as I was when we met. I also wasn’t quite ready to air my dirty laundry to strangers.
    Was Jason a stranger now?
    “That doesn’t quite explain this new black hair you’re rocking?” Jason asked.
    I shrugged, thinking about my light brown hair and tan skin from summers passed, “it fit my mood, I guess.”
    “So why was it so much better when I was around?” he asked with a smirk, eliciting another eye roll from me.
    “I see you’re no less full of yourself. Who said it had anything to do with you being around or not?” I commented.
    Jason’s face split into a grin and that’s when I knew: I was safe again. It felt as though no time had passed. We were back in each other’s lives, and that was that. It would still take some time before I really opened up to him, but for once, we had time.
     
    JONATHAN
    The next day, the group was outside, suiting up for project adventure. Julie looked up at the unsteady wooden structure once again. The obstacle course scaled up between the trees, far over our heads. It was the same one Julie looked at a couple of weeks ago that Tony assured she wouldn’t climb yet. I don’t think she could help staring at it. All of the beams and ropes made her uncomfortable.
    She started backing up, hoping to sneak towards the back of class but she bumped into me.
    “Sorry,” she quickly said as she spun around to find me, “or maybe I’m not.” I failed to suppress an eye roll at her sultry tone but offered to help her put her harness on.
    “I don’t really think I need to wear this,” Julie started.
    “Why? Too good to join class?” I asked. The side of my mouth turned up as I took the harness from her hands. I tried to ignore the tingle in my hands as they brushed hers and focused on turning the harness the correct way so Julie could step through the leg holes.
    “Well, I just don’t think that I’ll be starting all of that…” she waved her hands at the direction of the obstacle course, “so I don’t need this,” Julie tried to justify.
    “You still need a harness. What if I want you holding my ropes while I’m climbing? You need a harness.”
    “You really want me to hold your ropes?” Julie asked, still ignoring the equipment in my hands.
    “You’re gonna need to get over it eventually, it’s not scary once you do it.”
    Julie laughed to herself, “I’ve heard that more times than I care to remember,” she muttered under her breath.
    “Well, since Jon and Julie have so much to discuss, maybe they can start us out today,” Jeff started the class. I