Read Online Your Soul to Take (Rise of the Fallen) by Sean Hayden - Free Book Online Page B

her to say something,
anything, but she just started munching on lettuce.
    “Are
you okay?”
    “Yup,
I’m fine.”
    “Aren’t
you going to say something?”
    “Trust
me, you don’t want me to say anything right now. Eat.”
    I
sighed, doubted my wisdom in saying anything, and tore into my sloppy-joe. We
sat quietly for almost ten minutes before the silence was broken by Clarisse
sitting down with a tray of food next to Jessie.
    “I
hate school. Have I mentioned that lately?”
    “Did
you know?” Jessie calmly sat her fork down and turned to look at Clarisse.
    “Know
what?”
    “Connor
just shared some interesting information with me.”
    Clarisse
looked over at me. I looked down at my food. “About…”
    “Don’t
play dumb, Claire.”
    I
panicked. I was worried Clarisse would think I had told her about the movies.
“I told her about Shannon,” I said apologetically.
    “Good,”
Clarisse said and started eating.
    “Good?
He kisses a girl and you say good?”
    “Yes.”
    “Would
you care to elaborate? How is it good that my boyfriend is kissing other
girls?”
    Clarisse
sighed heavily and set her fork down. She turned to look Jess right in the eye.
“First of all, yes. I knew all about it. Connor told me about it at the
movies. I didn’t tell you because he said he couldn’t keep anything from you
and it would kill him if it hurt you to find out what happened. I even told him
not to tell you about it.
    “Second
of all, he didn’t kiss her. She practically attacked him and kissed him. His first thought? To tell you about it. So think about it, Jessie. He didn’t
do it, he didn’t want to do it, and he still told you about it. I’m not saying
you shouldn’t be mad. I’d be pissed, too, but you shouldn’t be mad at Connor.
You should be thanking him for telling you about it and not keeping things from
you.”
    She
turned and picked her fork up again and started eating. I had trouble believing
she had stuck up for me as vehemently as she had. It sounded like she was
expecting this conversation and had rehearsed her lines. They had come out that
naturally.
    I
looked from Clarisse to Jess who stared at her salad like she would find some
sort of wisdom hidden between the layers of leafy green goodness. “I’m
sorry, Connor,” she said and started eating, too.
    I
didn’t want to say anything that could possibly have a negative impact on the
situation. If she had been looking at me, I would have given her a smile.
“I love you,” I whispered. “I’m just sorry it happened at all.
If it makes you feel any better, I will be avoiding both Aunt Annie’s Pretzels
and Shannon for the rest of my life.”
    Jessie
looked up from her salad and opened her eyes as far as they could go.
“You’d give up pretzels? For me? You really do love me,” she
said and grinned.
    “More
than pretzels.”
    “I’m
not hungry anymore,” Clarisse said disgustedly.
    Jessie
and I laughed and finished our lunches. We sat quietly until Claire finished
hers and we stood to leave together. Life is kind of funny, sometimes. Just
when you think things have gotten back on track and you might be heading toward
some sort of normal, that’s usually when the powers that be decide to derail
your train.
    As
we were leaving, Shannon decided to make a grand entrance to the cafeteria with
her two lackeys in tow. I groaned inwardly as soon as I saw her blond hair come
through the doorway. Please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything…
    Her
gaze swept right over Jessie and Clarisse and settled upon me. Her pouty lips
curved into a sultry upward smile and her eyes narrowed as she looked down at
my shoes and all the way up to my face, meeting my eyes. “Hello, Connor…
Long time no–”
    The
impact of Jessica’s fist sent a clap of thunder that reverberated through the
James Underwood High School cafeteria like a sonic boom. At least that’s what
it sounded like to my ears. It must have been pretty loud to everyone