Crimson Echo by Dusty Burns Read Free Book Online

asleep.
                
     
     
                                                              
     
     
                                                               
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
                                                                Chapter Three
                                                                    Adopted
                The sun cast a yellow beam across my bed and inevitably over my face. I blinked letting my eyes re-adjust to the brilliant stream of light that lit up the room. I realized then that it was morning. I jumped out of bed with a start. Adrenaline coursed through me, revving my heart. I was wound up immediately. I went through my usual morning routine, only more rapidly then was normal. I brushed my teeth and straightened my hair simultaneously and took a fraction longer to dress. I took the stairs two at a time now, nearly incapacitating myself in the process. My father looked startled as he stared at me and then he smirked.
    “So, what’s his name?” He peek ed at me over his cup of coffee, giving me a knowing smile.
    “ What? Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My lips pursed.
    “Sure you don’ t. Believe it or not, I was your age once. If there is a boy, I want you to be very…careful.”
    “Ugh, dad,” I groaned. “ There’s no boy, you have nothing to worry about.”
    Just then my mom walked in carrying a basket full of clean clothes, ready to be folded. “What’s this I hear about a boy?” She asked, eyeing me.
    “You didn’t hear anything about a boy, dad is just teasing me.”
    “You know when your father and I first started going steady…” I cut her off.
    “I’ve got to get to school — I think I’ll skip breakfast today. I’ve lost my appetite.”
    “Well, have a good day sweetheart.” She smiled from the kitchen.
    “You too,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight.”
                And then I made my way out into the freezing rain. Pulling my hood over my head I groaned in disappointment. Not rain. I hate the rain. My lilac sweater immediately turned dark purple as the rain bombarded me. I slumped into the Spider and turned the heat on, letting it dry out my top.
                The wiper blades swiped quickly across the windshield and I squinted to see through the downpour. Cautiously, I drove down as many back roads as possible, avoiding the highway entirely until I reached Emporia. There weren’t many cars in the flooded parking lot, so I sat and waited until it began to fill up. 
                Two thing s happened at once. One, the pelting rain diminished against the metal roof of my car. And two, a rainbow appeared like a mirage. We have to endure the storm so we can enjoy the beauty of a rainbow , I remembered my mom telling me once. It was beautiful, so vivid against the back drop of the gray sky. I hadn’t taken much time to stop and smell the proverbial flowers lately, but who does at my age?
                All of this was forgotten as I watched Kane pull into his usual parking spot.  The black Range Rover seemed out of place here. Most of the cars in the lot belonging to the students who were originally from Emporia were tiny sports cars. Everything belonging to Echo High students was a jumbled assortment of previously owned lower end vehicles.
                Kane stepped out of the black S.U.V. and my heart quickened. His hair glistened with tiny beads of water as he ducked under the canopy of the school. He waved at a few girls who were wringing their hair outside before they entered the building. I felt like a stalker, creeping in the background. The way he walked with sure, lithe movements made me