Crystal Frost 4 by Alicia Rades

Author:Alicia Rades [Rades, Alicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I played my hardest at our volleyball game on Thursday, not just because it was our last game of the season, but because I knew it was the last game I’d ever play. I killed three jump serves in a row before the opposing team sent it back over the net and my teammate Betsy returned it but it landed out of bounds.

“You were awesome tonight, Crystal,” Emma raved after the game in the locker room.

I wanted to smile, but it wasn’t genuine. I did well, yes, but my heart broke a little knowing it was all over. Assuming my father’s warning meant my death was just around the corner, I’d never play volleyball again.

“Just think about how awesome we’ll be next year,” she said.

I couldn’t help it. Something broke inside of me, and I pulled her into a tight hug right there in the locker room.

She tensed in surprise. “Whoa. Calm down, Crystal. You okay?”

I pasted a fake smile on my face and drew away from her. “I’m just glad we won,” I lied, something I’d become increasingly good at over the past year. She didn’t notice my dishonesty.

“Me, too.”

“Want to stay the night?” I practically begged. I needed more time with her. I didn’t want to leave her just yet.

“On a Thursday night?” she asked.

“Why not?” I shrugged.

Emma agreed, but my mother didn’t approve when I called to ask permission. “Emma can stay the night tomorrow, but you have school in the morning. I don’t want you staying up all night,” she’d said.

“Fine.” I gritted my teeth and hung up angrily before turning back to Emma. “Tomorrow night, okay?”

She nodded. “Sounds like fun.”

Friday after school was our annual pizza party to celebrate the end of volleyball season. It also doubled as our “turn in equipment” day. Derek wasn’t there like he should have been if he hadn’t quit. My heart dropped thinking about him. I hadn’t talked to him in the last couple of days. In fact, I hadn’t even seen him in school. But I felt a need to help him through whatever he was going through. I had a feeling he’d never told me the whole truth about what was bothering him, but at the very least, I had to say goodbye.

I started by saying goodbye to Emma at our sleepover that night. I never actually said goodbye or breathed a word of the prophecy to her. I simply enjoyed her company, taking in every bit of joy I could from her laugh, focusing on the way she crinkled her nose and how that made her look like a chipmunk, and reveling in all the memories of our years of friendship.

Emma snorted and threw her head back in laughter. We were both sitting on my bed and couldn’t stop laughing as we recounted stories from our past. “And remember that time when you fell face first into the mud on our first grade fieldtrip to that farm?” She giggled uncontrollably. “Oh, my gosh. Your face was covered in crap—literally.

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