An Unstill Life by Kate Larkindale Read Free Book Online Page B

word’s pitch rising upward into a burst of yellow sparks. She whipped around and skewered me with her gaze. “What did you do to your sister?”
    “Nothing?” The scissors dropped from my fingers and clattered to the floor. I winced.
    “You call this nothing?” Mom’s voice took on a razor edge, and her hand shook as she pointed toward Jules’s shorn head.
    “Mom—” Jules began, but Mom silenced her with a hand held up before her face.
    I mouthed a silent apology to Jules and ducked out the door while Mom’s attention was not on me. I knew Jules could hold her own. And Mom was mad at me, not her. As usual. I’d deal with her anger later if I had to.
    On the way down the hallway I texted Hannah. The longer I could put off going home the better.
    can I come over? need to lie low awhile.
    I hoped she’d understand. Ignoring the elevator, I took the stairs to street-level, enjoying the way my footsteps echoed around the wide stairwell in splashes of jade green. As I pushed my way out into the bustling foyer, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
    got ballet til 7. home by 8 if you want to come ova.
    Damn. I needed somewhere to go now. I checked the time on the phone. Four twenty-two. Wow. Earlier than I thought. I paused for a moment, thinking, then dashed out of the hospital to toward the nearest bus stop.
    I jumped off the bus at a stop by the school and hurried across the nearly deserted parking lot to the athletic fields behind the main building. The faint sound of voices drifted in my direction on the cooling air. Good. There were still people here.
    Rounding the corner of the low-slung brick building, I was blinded by the sunlight that slanted across the fields. I squinted, raising a hand to shield my eyes. Knots of people dotted the space, and I searched for Mel. I walked toward a group of figures standing by the track. As I did, the cluster dispersed, people walking off in different directions. I didn’t see Mel among them. Crap. What if she’d already gone home?
    “You’re too late if you wanted to try out.” The voice from behind startled me so much I jumped. I whirled around and found myself looking up at Jenna.
    “No… I…” My face flamed. Me? Try out? For cheerleading? She had to be on crack.
    She grinned. “Just kidding.” The smile dropped away as fast as it had come. Her hand wiped at some hair straying across her forehead. “How’s Jules doing?”
    “Okay.” I shrugged. It was inadequate, but unless she’d been to see Jules, I couldn’t explain. “Have you seen my friend, Mel? She runs track. I figured she’d be around here somewhere.”
    Jenna jerked a thumb in the direction of the gym. “You checked the locker rooms?”
    “Uh… No. Thanks, Jenna.” I started walking in that direction, but stopped when I heard Jenna call my name.
    “Livvie.” She ran up beside me. “Do you think Jules would want to see me?”
    I just stared at her. How could anyone be so stupid? “Sure. Of course.”
    “Really?” Her face squished up, making her look like a little kid, something that was accentuated when she tugged her ponytail over her shoulder and wrapped the tip around her finger. “Are you sure about that?”
    “Jenna, you’re her best friend. Of course she wants to see you. Why wouldn’t she?”
    She flicked the ponytail behind her again and shuffled her feet on the dry grass, which crackled and spat like fire under her heels. “I guess maybe I thought she’d be pretty pissed off, you know? Because she’s sick, and I’m not.”
    I sighed. “Maybe she is. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to see you.”
    Jenna straightened up, her face relaxing. “Thanks, Livvie. I’ll grab a shower and head over there. You think she’d like to see the film we took of the tryouts?” She held up her phone.
    “You can ask.” I tried to slip away, not wanting to appear eager to leave, but all too conscious of the minutes ticking by. If Mel was still around, I wanted to catch