The Wrong Path by Vivian Marie Aubin Du Paris

Author:Vivian Marie Aubin Du Paris [Paris, Vivian Marie Aubin Du]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-06-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Annabelle’s heart pounded as she walked toward the back entrance of the school. Everyone knew only the trouble makers hung out on the back entrance steps, so almost no one ventured back there. Still, she had made a promise to give the skirt to Ebony, and she hadn’t seen her all day and had no idea where her locker was.

Steeling her nerves, half-praying the stairs would be deserted, she pushed open the back door. Almost in unison, ten heads turned to look at her, and most of the looks were unfriendly. She forced a weak smile, feeling her knees tremble slightly.

“Annabelle!”

Gratefully, she looked over at the retaining wall, where Ebony was perched… between Will’s legs? Annabelle felt her heart fall into her stomach. Why was Ebony…?

And then she remembered the two Goth teens at the mall… the boy leaning over the girl, shielding her from view. The girl kissing the boy’s cheek in the food court. It had been Will and Ebony the whole time. She had just never thought about it since then.

Ebony was dating Will.

She felt it like a punch to her stomach, though she couldn’t explain why. Or why she felt hot, burning tears in her eyes.

She forced her smile back. “I brought this for you,” she forced herself to say, hoping they thought the strain in her voice was because they were all staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes. She handed the skirt, which she had wrapped in a handkerchief, to Ebony, staying as far away from her and Will as she could without looking strange.

“Thanks!” Ebony said enthusiastically. “I can’t wait to wear it. I may even wear it tomorrow, if I can find the perfect things to pair it with. I’ll bring it back on Monday.”

Annabelle carefully avoided eye contact with Will, keeping her gaze focused on Ebony, and tried to hide her hard swallow. “Sure. Whenever you get a chance.” She forced herself to smile at the rest of the group. “I’ll see you later,” she said to Ebony, then turned to the door.

“You don’t need to leave!” Ebony objected quickly, to Annabelle’s horror. She tried not to cringe as she turned back, but Ebony had vaulted off of the wall between Will’s legs and was reaching for her hand, her eyes kind and welcoming. “Really,” she insisted, her voice softer and more sincere, intended only for Annabelle’s ears. Then, raising her voice teasingly, she added, “There’s only a couple of us who bite.”

“You liked it!” a boy from the bottom of the steps called out.

“Made him think I did,” Ebony told Annabelle lowly, winking a heavily made up eye. Annabelle felt a weak smile form on her lips. Ebony really was a wonderful girl—it made sense for her to be dating a nice guy like Will.

And besides that, who Will dated had nothing to do with her anyway. Why was she so upset about it?

Annabelle vacillated for too long to give an answer. Ebony took her arm and led her, to her horror, back to the wall where Ebony and Will had been sitting together.

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.