Bittersweet by Shewanda Pugh Read Free Book Online

 
    ~~~
    Edy powered on her laptop and a pinpoint of light whirled and pin wheeled before igniting into a sunburst. She logged on and got dumped at her desktop, where she stared at a pink ballet slipper until it faded into oblivion. The massive screen with its backlight scorched into her retinas. She dimmed the settings and went back to staring in the dark before wondering what she waited on.
    She logged onto Facebook, but it so wasn’t her thing. It was so not her thing, in fact, that her last status update read:
    edy phelps : Leahy? West Roxbury? Please. South End’s coming for you! #Pradhan #Dyson
    The West Roxbury game existed on another time continuum altogether, in a life where safety came with seat belts and passwords or double checking before crossing the street. Edy deleted her status with a heavy hand.
    She moved on to staring at her profile picture next. She looked stupid. Stupid and young. Could she possibly have aged in the span of a few days? She thought of those people who went into shock and turned their hair white. That was real, wasn’t it? What was ‘real’, anyway? These days, not even she felt real to herself.
    She poked at the screen with a finger and drew away at the rainbow prism she made. In the pic, she wore a purple knit cap with a fishtail braid peeking out. Her grin sat big and Hassan’s bigger as he injected himself sideways.
    The laptop’s cursor blinked in expectation. Why had she brought the machine, if not to use it? She shoved it back and pushed away, only to wonder what had happened. Edy inhaled, exhaled, and decided to try again. She’d update her status if nothing else.
    edy phelps : Had to get away for awhile. Be back in time for school. Keep Wyatt Green in your thoughts.
    She stared at the screen as Hassan slept on the floor, snoring like some great lion at rest. What had made her put the part in about Wyatt? Better still, should she delete it?
    The notifications chimed in almost immediately; Edy decided to turn her back on them. Light illuminated the cut of Hassan’s t-shirt covered shoulder as fabric draped the peaks and valleys of chiseled chest and rigid abs. Black hair tumbled carelessly into his face and whatever he dreamed about twitched his mouth in a frown, nose crinkled as if something smelled foul.
    A tangle of words of escaped his lips. Only ‘ kamina ’ or ‘distrustful’ was decipherable. Edy sighed and turned back to the computer.
    chloe castillo : OMG. Edy, are you OK? Is Hassan with you?
    Edy’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. She had strict instructions not to divulge her location, but she could give Chloe some info, right? Unlike the other losers on the thread—Sandra, Eva, Aimee Foss—who she still thought of as Hassan’s redhead, yuck, Chloe wasn’t standing by pop eyed, gawking at the ten-car pileup. She really did care about the two of them and waited by anxious.
    Edy decided on an inbox message:
    edy phelps : I think ‘OK’ is a pretty strong word. But we’re cool.
    Chloe’s message came back instantly:
    chloe castillo : I didn’t think you’d write! Lawrence said to give you a minute and let you gather your thoughts.
    So they were together. Edy glanced at the time. It seemed she and Hassan weren’t the only ones into late night tree hurdling. Or had she made a leap in thinking?
    She asked if Lawrence was with her.
    chloe castillo : Yeah. He wants to know where you are. Now.
    Edy imagined someone trying to murder her closest friend, then that same friend disappearing. She’d demand answers, too.
    edy phelps : In Kentucky at my grandparents’ house. We’re safe.
    The answer took forever.
    chloe castillo : You don’t have grandparents in Kentucky.
    edy phelps : I do now.

Nine
    The days trudged in cold quiet one after the other, with only the faintest reminders of a holiday season. A crooked, branch-starved tree went up one day and on the next, they adorned it with shatterproof ornaments and a single string of lights.
     The holiday