Catharsis (Book 2): Catalyst by D. Andrew Campbell Read Free Book Online Page A

happy, friendly and the type of person that strangers are instantly attracted to.  All of that made it very easy for me to not like her as she got ready to join me at the high school.  She wasn't even at the school yet, and she was already more popular than I would ever be.  I loved her, but I didn't really like her.  And the fact that she wasn't bothered in the least by my annoyance only bothered me more.  It was Leyna I was fighting with that fateful night my life changed.  A fact I haven't forgotten.  Nor has she.).
                But now that I've been gone from home for almost a year, her voice is one of the only things that truly brings me to a smile anymore.  I miss her, and I've made a point of contacting her to talk at least once a week.  I know she wants to hear from me and know that I'm ok, but the calls are more for my sanity than hers.  That's why I had Ren set up an untraceable number when I dial her.  I can't have her tracking me down.  Being kept at a distance is something I know she doesn’t like, but she has learned to accept it.  It’s still better than the alternative: not hearing from me at all.
                "It's been good, Leyna, thanks," I answer in response to her question.  "The city continues to be a big, scary place that constantly keeps me on my toes, but I think I'm winning the battle."  I pause and think back over the events of the night.  "At least most of the important ones."
                Twisting the throttle of the bike, I push its speed and pass a car on the road as if it was standing still.  One of the joys of having heightened reflexes and near immortality is that I don't really worry any more about the repercussions of reckless driving.  I've come close to taking a tumble a number of times, but so far my body's self-preservation abilities have always kicked in and saved me.
                "How's school going so far?" I ask her so that we can stick to one of our safer topics.  We've learned there are a few areas of our lives that neither of us dredges up, but the boring neutrality of the educational world has remained a staple of our conversations.  "Any news I should know about with the report coming up?"
                "Ha!  Nothing that wouldn't embarrass you," she tells me through a laugh.  "I always thought you were supposed to be the smart one, but I'm starting to make your old grades look bad.  I'm going to make honor roll again this term, but my history class is getting tougher.  I'm hoping if I can keep it at least a B+ for the rest of the year then my math grade will help offset it. ."
                "You still rocking that crazy, high math class and getting A's?" I ask as I slow for a red light and wait for it to change (I may speed at times and bumper-slide more than I should, but I try not to run lights if I can avoid it.  That's just bad karma.).  "I still can't believe how easily that stuff comes to you."
                "It just makes sense to me," she says in a quieter voice.  "I don't even have to try in Mr. Porter's class.  My brain just gets math."  She stops talking after that, and I can almost hear the neurons rubbing together in her brain as she considers her next statement.  "I get that from mom.  You know that."
                I don't respond as I stare at the stoplight in front of me, and I do my best to not let what she said affect me.  The moment the light becomes green I kick the gears and accelerate as hard as the bike will let me without flipping over.  I know I can't run away from this conversation as easily as the bike did from that intersection, but I can wish for it to be that easy.  I know I need to address what she said, but I don't want to.
                "Leyna, you know I don't want to talk about them.  It's too painful, and it does me no favors," I tell her as I do my best to not picture the two people she's talking about.  "I