Aries: Book 2 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) by Rachel Medhurst Read Free Book Online Page A

were blunt too but there wasn’t any emotion behind it. When Pisces chastised, she said it with feeling, so it went deep.
    ‘I’m sorry, Natalie,’ I mumbled, feeling like a told off child.
    ‘It’s okay,’ she replied, not looking round as she fiddled with cups. ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’
    I nodded.
    ‘We’d all love one,’ Pisces intercepted.
    I glanced up. Leo stared at my stumps over my shoulder. His cheeks flamed red when he caught me looking.
    ‘It’s okay, mate. I know it’s creepy.’ I tried to laugh. The sound got lodged in my throat.
    Leo stood back and sat on a stall. ‘Is it true what they say about phantom limbs? Can you feel them as if they’re still there?’
    I sighed in relief.
    ‘You can’t ask that, Leo!’ Natalie spun round.
    I waved, dismissing her. ‘Yes, he can. In fact, I would prefer it if people say what they’re thinking. I don’t like bull crap. I can smell it from a mile away.’
    The others pretended to chuckle. Natalie ignored me and went back to making the hot drinks. My siblings were used to me but she wasn’t. Not in the same way. We might have dated when we were teenagers but we hadn’t spent that much time together in the last few years. I had done a bit of growing up since then, although not a lot.
    Father called me the child of the group. He said that I would never grow up, and I knew deep down, it was true. I was a hulking Peter Pan. Well, I had been before I got my legs blown off, anyway.
    ‘To answer your question, Leo, yes. It does sometimes feel like my legs are there.’
    He averted his gaze when I tried to pull my shorts down over the bandages.
    ‘Where are the others?’ I asked.
    ‘They’re at work,’ Pisces replied, bending to get a cake tin from one of the cupboards. Her long hair almost touched the floor. Her leg stuck out as she grabbed what I hoped was her homemade cake.
    ‘Even Taurus?’
    They laughed as they helped Natalie finish making the tea. They took everything to the kitchen table. The end chair had been taken away. I wheeled myself over to the head of the table. Exactly where I used to always sit.
    ‘It worked out quite well.’ Pisces laid her hand over mine.
    I pulled away, picking up my mug to distract myself. The tightness in my throat made it hard to swallow. Sipping my drink made the threatening tears retreat.
    ‘Are you excited about your operation? It sounds like you’ll be one of the first people to have it.’ Antony took a bite of the slice of chocolate cake that Pisces handed him. I picked up my own and did the same so I didn’t have to answer. I nodded instead, chewing the moist cake. I couldn’t taste it but ate anyway.
    ‘What do I do?’ I said, gulping the rest of my tea.
    My mind went blank. The future was completely fuzzy.
    ‘You get fit again.’ Natalie grabbed my hand.
    I blinked as I looked down at the wooden table. I was useless. I had no legs. What was the point? What was there left for me to do?
    ‘How…? There’s only so much I can do.’
    I almost choked and didn’t dare look up. Both women in the room would be crying. I couldn’t handle that.
    ‘You need to keep your upper body as fit as possible. Try to keep your thighs fit, too. You will have gruelling exercises to do every day. I promise you won’t have time to get bored.’
    Natalie’s voice was full of emotion but still harsh. I looked into her eyes and saw no pity there. No tears or any sign of crying showed on her face. She was an angel in that moment.
    ‘You’re a fighter, Aries, you will not let this beat you.’ It was a different story when I looked at Pisces. She had tears running down her cheeks but the determination in her words contradicted her emotion. She wasn’t crying because she felt sorry for me. She was crying because of the situation. She had to process how she felt. I was grateful to have someone that cared that much for me.
    ‘You were there for me.’
    Chair legs squeaked as the others left the table and went