Charcoal Tears by Jane Washington Read Free Book Online Page B

night.”
    Someone grabbed the envelope off me and I buried my face in my hands, hiding my panic as I tried to regulate my breathing. One… two… three… Cabe crouched in front of me, pulling me into his arms. It felt natural to be held by him, as though he were a precious childhood friend instead of a virtual stranger. My cheek fell to his shoulder and he hugged me tighter, trying to hold me firmly enough that I stopped shaking.
    I could hear the sound of Tariq roughly pulling photos from the wall while Noah barked into a cell phone.
    “I don’t care. You’re the best person to deal with this kind of shit. Ask Silas? Are you insane? Dammit, Miro, fine, have it your way. You’ll have to face her eventually.” He snapped his phone shut, swore at it, and shoved it back into his pocket.
    “It’s just a stupid prank,” Cabe muttered, drawing my attention back to him. He seemed every bit as calm as Noah was riled-up. My trembling was getting under control, so I stood up and tried to put some distance between us. Cabe watched me back away and said, “Let’s get out of this house.”
    I started to shake my head, but Noah’s hand landed over my cheek. He hovered, electric eyes pulling me into his turbulence. “It’s a prank,” he echoed his brother. “If they wanted to do something to you, they would have done it already. They’re playing with you. We need to get out of this house for a while. I’ll have someone come over while we’re gone and replace all the locks.”
    Noah and Cabe left the room, and I shared a look with Tariq before we started to follow them. By the time we had returned the car, Cabe’s grin was back in full force. “Now that you’ve given into our inevitable friendship, it’s time for a little fun.”
    I heard Tariq and Noah muttering in the back seat, and then Noah raised his voice. “Fun?” he asked.
    “Tabby’s place,” Cabe replied, starting the engine. The cheery note to his voice sounded off, and I felt a brief trill of alarm at how easily they had brushed off the incident. Both incidents.
    “Good idea.” Noah had a smile in his voice as he pulled out his phone again. “Hey,” he started in a friendly tone. “What’s up?” He paused a moment, drumming his fingers on his thigh. I turned in my seat to watch him and he met my eyes. “I’m with a friend from school.” Cabe stiffened in the driver’s seat, but Noah’s smile had only grown. “Yes,” he said. “That friend.” He pulled the phone away from his face and I saw the words call ended flash across his screen, indicating that his friend had hung up on him. Unperturbed, he dialled the number again. “Don’t be a bitch, Silas. This is important.”
    I listened as he rattled off the facts of both pranks as though they didn’t bother him at all, as though he had every right to share that information with whomever he wanted… as though this were his life just as much as it was mine. I could feel the corners of my mouth turning down, and I looked away from Noah to try and control my rising anger. I caught Tariq’s eye, and saw that he was frowning just as hard as I wanted to, but I shook my head at him. I needed to figure out what was different about these boys, and why I felt so close to them, almost like I needed them in order to simply get through my day. I needed to know everything before I reacted.
    I was living proof that the world was a dangerous and unexpected place.
    “You have yourself a deal,” Noah said, sounding pleased. He hung up his call and started pressing buttons on his phone.
    “Who was that?” I asked.
    “Nobody,” snapped Cabe.
    “You’ll meet him soon enough,” Noah replied easily. “It’s inevitable, after all.”
    “Like our friendship?” I was joking, but the words stuck in my throat. 
    Noah’s teeth flashed and his head whipped up. “Yeah,” he stared at me with an intensity I was getting used to expecting from him, and I quickly looked away.
    They drove out to the bay