Blood Entwines by Caroline Healy Read Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t sure why.
    Ben walked with an easy stride down the corridor, his brown hair slicked back with the tiniest hint of gel. With one hand he rolled up the sleeve of his jumper, pulling the cuff of the white shirt up to his elbow. Ben always had his sleeves rolled, even in the depths of winter.
    Everyone liked Ben. He was that kind of guy.
    And he had
almost
been Kara’s date for the Halloween dance.
    She stared at the ground, studying her socks intently, cursing herself for not pulling them up when she’d noticed them earlier. She was struggling to breathe.
    â€˜Hi, Kara.’
    She heard his greeting from across the corridor. He raised his hand and waved at her, a smile lighting his eyes. Kara felt Ashleigh stiffen beside her. She wondered if they were officially a couple now.
    â€˜Hi, Ben,’ she mumbled, unable to hold his gaze for very long as he moved to stand next to them.
    I look a total mess, thought Kara, remembering her image from the mirror earlier. Why had she not done something with her hair? At least tried to make an effort?
    â€˜I didn’t know you were coming back today.’ He glanced for a moment at Ashleigh. ‘Nobody told me.’
    Kara saw the exchange between the two of them and felt her heart tighten. He was obviously with Ashleigh and wanted Kara to know. Probably best to get things out in the open, not to have any awkwardness over a missed invitation to the dance.
    â€˜It’s good to see you.’ He smiled kindly at her, a single dimple forming on his left cheek.
    Kara wondered if he felt sorry for her. Her stomach muscles clenched.
    â€˜Um, ya. Thanks.’ Turning, she moved along the corridor into the throng of students pushing their way into the canteen. Having Ashleigh Jameson and Ben Shephard feeling sorry for her was the last thing she needed. Her cheeks burned and pinpricks of black danced in front of her eyes.
    Keep it together, she told herself, just keep it together.
    The canteen was jammed with students and the noise assaulted her as she entered the room. Kara could sense Ashleigh behind her and she wondered if the two of them were holding hands.
    â€˜Don’t be stupid,’ she muttered under her breath.
    She and Ben were friends. That was all. They had been lab partners at the beginning of the year; there had never been anything else between them. Nothing that she could ever have admitted to at least. The whole school knew that Ashleigh had her eye on Ben and that meant one thing. He was out of bounds.
    If that was the case, then why did she feel as if a fist was gripping her by the throat, cutting off her air supply? She wished he’d never asked her out in the first place. Things were better when there were no complications, when they were just friends. Fat lot of good he was as a friend. He never even bothered to come visit her in hospital.
    She felt like throwing something. Instead she moved into the canteen and joined the queue, aware that a large proportion of the student population was staring at her. This day was turning out just peachy.
    Slowly, whispered voices heralded her arrival and then a wave of silence rippled across the room. Kara could see some of the GCSE students at the far end of the canteen stand up to get a better view of her. She stopped in her tracks, unsure of what to do next, swallowing nervously.
    But Ben was behind her, a gentle hand placed on the base of her spine.
    â€˜It’s cool. They’re staring at me,’ he whispered, his breath tickling the back of her neck. ‘It happens when you’re a football legend. You get used to it.’
    Kara smiled, rolling her eyes. ‘Dream on,’ she said, as they moved forward in the queue for food. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was smiling. She wondered if Ashleigh had seen.
    Then it happened, what she knew was coming all along, since the day in the hospital when Jenny showed her
that
picture. Ashleigh would not stand for