All In My Head (First Tracks Book 1) by Kristen James Read Free Book Online Page A

it’s nothing like
that.”
    I was about to hang up when Brian started talking. Just
general stuff, but a little helpful too, about dealing with stress. “Just
talking things out can really help.”
    “Okay. So this will sound really, really crazy.” My entire
body lit on fire. I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t sure I could go through with
this, anonymous or not.
    “There’s no judgment here,” he said kindly.
    “Well … I’ve been hearing this voice talk to me. It’s the
same one all the time. And it’s not like … not like the movies where he’s
trying to get me to do anything. He’s just as frustrated as I am about being
stuck here, but he doesn’t know who he is, or where he lives, or how he’ll get
back to his life.” I couldn’t stop it. Everything rushed out.
    “How long has this been going on?”
    “A few days, I think.” It felt like a year.
    “How were things going for you before that?”
    “Good, life was pretty normal.” I had made sure not to
mention specifics like my friends’ names, or that we rented a house, or that
we’d been snowboarding.
    “Any problems with your family? A boyfriend? Or even a
friend? Any stress at school?”
    “No, nothing that big.”
    Liar.
    You didn’t want me sharing in the first place!
    “Did anything happen around when you started hearing this
voice? Anything at all?”
    “Well, I was in an accident and hurt my head a little.”
    “It really sounds like you need to see a doctor.”
    “I did, actually, right when it happened. Everything was
fine.”
    The line was quiet for a minute and I panicked, thinking he
was tracing the call. Could they do that? Then, “Maybe you should go back in.
Have you told your doctor about this?”
    “No, it didn’t seem like a physical symptom, and the scan
showed everything was fine.”
    “Did this voice tell you not to tell anyone about him?”
     A chill ran up my spine, clear to the base of my head, and
gave me goosebumps down my arms. “I’m not sure. I need to get going, but thanks
for listening.” I heard him saying my name—my fake name—as I hung up, breathing
heavily.
    What did you do? What if they come looking for us?
    I checked the hallway again. Empty. “He’s right, Marcus.
It’s totally weird that you don’t want me to get help. And this is messing up
my life.”
    How?
    “How? I can’t think straight. I’m stressed out. Then there’s
Nash.”
    Marcus laughed bitterly.
    We can’t go telling people about this, babe. I know it’s
frustrating for you, but imagine being in here with nowhere else to go.
    But I couldn’t go on like this forever!
    My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn’t been eating
much. I went to the kitchen and dug around, not feeling like eating anything I
found so I settled on an avocado. I pushed Kristina’s text books out of the way
to make a spot to sit down, and then I ended up picking up the rest of the
clutter, losing myself in the task. Finally I cut the avocado in half, salted
and peppered it, and took a bite.
    Marcus gagged.
    What are you eating?
    “It’s just avocado.” I took another bite, wondering if he
really tasted everything I did, but he just kept gagging. With a loud sigh, I
chucked it in the trash and went to my room, where I fell into bed so
frustrated I felt hot tears tickling through my squinted eyelids.
    You hide in your bed a lot.
    His voice was quiet, but there wasn’t a way for him to be so
quiet that I couldn’t hear him. I growled into my pillow. There wasn’t a place
to hide from him.
    I woke two hours later to my cell phone buzzing. Three
texts.
    Kristina: Nachos? We’ll bring home.  
    Nash: Hi Avery. How are you? Are you okay?
    Nash again: Dawn said you fell hard on the slopes. Hope
you’re okay.
    I told Kristina: Yes, please!
    To Nash: Thanks, Nash. Feeling okay. Went home early
today just to rest. No more snowboarding!
    Now wait a minute. Haven’t you heard of getting back up?
    “Haven’t you heard of not doing something