Bigger Than the Sky (Serenity Point) by Harper Bentley Read Free Book Online Page A

too as she glances up at him in awe. Ugh. His head comes down and he shakes it then through the window he sees me watching him and raises a hand in a wave. I give him a quick wave then disappear back into the station, my face flushed for getting caught staring at him.
    I spend the rest of the day taking everything upstairs and situating it, and my little apartment is beginning to look better. I’m not sure why I’m putting so much into it since I won’t be staying long, but I rationalize everything by telling myself (again) that I want to be comfortable while I’m here. Anyway, as I look around, I can’t help but smile because the small space looks so much better now, almost like home.
     

Chapter 5
     
    That night I’m awakened by a crash and sit straight up in bed with a gasp.
    I do this all the time, though. I’ll be asleep or maybe I’m in that twilight slumber world where you’re sleeping and you know you’re sleeping, but you’re kind of technically awake since you know you’re sleeping, yet again you’re not? Yeah, well, I’m always thinking I hear noises like crashes or knocks. I know, weird.
    That’s what I’m hoping this is until I hear a woman screaming. It’s not a frightened scream, although it scares the dickens (yet again, thanks, Papaw) out of me. No, it’s a laughing scream as if someone crept up on her and hollered, “Boo!” and she realized they were teasing so she threw a laugh in on the scream. A few seconds later, I hear a car’s tires squealing as it takes off.
    I look at my bedside clock to see that it’s 2:31am. Okay, Jen’s just closed at two, so it’s probably some rowdy bar patrons who parked close, some guy sneaked up and scared his girlfriend, she screamed and now they’re getting the heck out of town.
    I lie down and try to go back to sleep, but something’s not sitting right in my head. I get up and put my robe on then go check downstairs. I don’t take a flashlight because all those crazy women in horror movies do that. I mean, why the hell would they do that and let the killer know where they are? They may as well just wear a neon sign over their head that blinks on and off saying, “Here I am! Kill me!” Or, even dumber, they’ll say, “Is somebody there?” again calling attention to themselves making it so easy for the killer to find them, which just pisses me off. Okay, okay, I know I’ve gone straight to serial killers and murderers the last two nights, but any single woman living alone, I don’t care how small the town is, I’m sure has done the same. Unless I’m just particularly more chicken than the rest.
    I creep as quietly as I can down the stairs, stopping and grabbing a box of fabric sheets off the dryer for a weapon because boxes are sooooo dangerous you know, but it’s the only thing I can find. When I peek around the corner into the station area, cold air hits me in the face and I see that someone’s broken the big front window that said, “Hale’s Garage. You rend ‘em, we mend ‘em!” and I suck in a ton of air at the sight.
    Holy shit!
    I let out a yelp then go to the wall hitting the light switch and see that someone’s thrown a brick through the friggin’ window. I’m barefooted, but the brick landed farther into the store, therefore there’s not a lot of glass around it, so putting the box of dryer sheets under my arm, I bend over, keeping my feet where they are lest some stray glass cuts my foot, and putting a hand to the floor grab it. When I stand, I pull off the rubber band and read the torn piece of paper that was wrapped around it.
    Your not wanted here. You need to leave town while you still can bitch!
    Well, that’s an example of a much-needed grammar lesson with a focus on contractions and comma usage right there. Good to see that the idiots still abound here in Serenity Point. I’ll have to have a talk with Cassie and Lacey about the state of grammar affairs in the school system.
    “You okay?” a deep voice asks