Dust to Dust by Melissa Walker

Author:Melissa Walker
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

..................................................................

Fourteen

I HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING that night—I toss and turn in my bed until finally I give up and go downstairs, where I fall into uneasy dreams on the couch in front of the TV. I wake up in the early morning and wander back to my room to get dressed for school, but I end up just staring out the window. I’m replaying the kisses, the touches, the holding. All of the magic of a moment I know I’ll remember as long as I live, and maybe beyond.

Lost in my thoughts, I barely have time to put on clothes before I hear Carson honk from the driveway. She was so tired last night driving home that she didn’t ask any questions, but today she’ll want to know what happened out on the water. I take off the amber pendant from Nick that I’ve been wearing, and I slip the gold class ring onto a chain that I can loop around my neck and into my shirt. Then I run out the door, grabbing a piece of bread for breakfast.

In the car, I tell Carson that we’re safe for now, that the ring worked and Thatcher spoke to me when I called. But I play down the full story, because it feels private, like it’s just for me and Thatcher. Amazingly, she doesn’t push me—she still seems a little zonked from the sun.

I spend the day in something like a trance. At least I can use my “coma all summer” status as a way to avoid too much pressure from my teachers.

Since the water went cold yesterday, I’ve felt Thatcher’s absence more profoundly. A warmth is missing, like when someone has their hand on your back and then they take it away and that spot feels even colder than the rest of you. It makes me ache inside. Only the ring brings me comfort today.

When I walk out of physics at the end of the afternoon, I feel a slight tingle, a pull, inside of me. I look around nervously, and I see that there’s someone staring at me from the doorway across the hall. That guy, the one Carson waved to, the one I saw on the first day. His black-framed glasses catch the fluorescent lights and his face looks open, friendly. But the way he’s eying me—it’s so intense. I glance down at myself to see if I have some big ketchup stain from lunch on me or something, and I notice that Thatcher’s grandfather’s ring is visible outside of my cotton button-down. Is that what he’s looking at?

I tuck the ring back underneath my shirt and turn away, walking toward my locker as the humming inside me starts to build. Carson is waiting for me a few feet down the hall. “It’s time to wake you up,” she says, as everyone else streams by us. “You’ve been dragging all day. Ice cream?”

I nod and give her a half smile for trying. If anyone can get me through this, it’s Carson.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.