Autumn Storm by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online

brother’s school is playing ours tonight.
We’re kinda isolated at the school. Really sucks if you don’t have
a car to get to the mall or anything.” Beck was upbeat and
outgoing, the opposite of how she felt. Something about his
attitude was contagious.
    The tension between her shoulders melted,
and she found herself looking forward to the evening out, even if
she rarely went out. At least, she didn’t think she did. She really
didn’t know.
    “You probably think I walk around asking out
every pretty blond at school, but I really don’t. You seemed …a
little lost.”
    “I don’t feel lost,” she replied archly. As
she suspected, he was taking pity on her. He was too charismatic
for her to her to be angry. “It’s kinda weird. I probably
should.”
    “Why?”
    “Never mind. It’s stupid.”
    “Trust me, I don’t think anything you can
tell me would be weird,” he said.
    She smiled and looked out the window but
didn’t volunteer anything else. The sun was setting already,
casting long shadows across the road. The sky ahead of them grew
darker.
    “So, tell me about Autumn,” he prodded at
her silence.
    “I wish I knew.”
    He waited. When she said nothing else, he
glanced at her. “That’s it?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “Okay, I can make up a story about your
background.”
    Autumn returned her gaze to him.
    “You’re from California, where you’re a
part-time mermaid. The rest of the time, you rescue homeless dogs,”
Beck started. “I think you can read minds, too, right?”
    She shook her head. She didn’t want to smile
but did.
    “Well, you can now. Your favorite color is
blue, because you’re a water element.”
    “I like your version of things better,” she
said. “But I’m not a water element. I’m afraid of water, I think. I
can’t remember much of anything from before the accident.”
    “Wow, that’s terrible.”
    “I’m lucky I survived. I have scars all
over,” she said, indicating her neck and body.
    “Did they catch the guy?”
    “I don’t know. I focused more on trying to
get better. Today’s the first day I walked without my brace. I’ve
been kinda happy about that.”
    “That’s quite a story. What was a mermaid
doing in the street?”
    “Part-time mermaid,” she reminded him. “I
don’t know. I can’t remember the accident.”
    “I knew there was something different about
you.” His smile was back. “Do you know your element yet? Or is it
too soon?”
    “I think I know,” she said, pensive. “I
don’t understand a lot of that stuff yet.”
    “Rough few days?”
    “No,” she replied. “Familiar. Like you. I
keep thinking this is déjà vu.”
    “Okay, so the mermaid can’t read minds, but
you can see the future. Who wins the game tonight?” he asked.
    “Who’s playing?” she returned.
    He chuckled.
    “What … element are you? Or do you talk to
or whatever it is we do with elements?” she asked.
    “Earth.”
    “The protector element,” she recalled from
her reading.
    Beck glanced at her again. “Yeah.
Allegedly.”
    “I can almost see that.”
    “Almost.” He rolled his eyes. “Awesome.”
    “You’re trying to be nice. I guess.”
    “And failing miserably.”
    “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m being mean
to you, aren’t I?”
    “Oh, yeah.” He smiled to show he was
joking.
    “I’m earth, too. I think,” she said,
thinking again.
    “Are you? I didn’t sense it.”
    “Is it possible to have two elements?”
    “Very rare.”
    “I think I do. Air and earth.”
    “Air and earth,” he repeated. “Almost
impossible, Autumn.”
    The way he said her name made her look at
him. His smile was gone, and he gripped the steering wheel tight
enough for his knuckles to be white.
    “I could be wrong,” she said, puzzled by the
sudden tension in his frame. He wore the same expression he did
when staring down the path they were forbidden from entering. It
didn’t seem to be his nature to be serious and made