Dust of Snow by Indra Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page A

Can’t go a week without
visiting Mother now, can we?”
    I had to grind my teeth together to stop my
bottom lip from quivering as he walked away.
     

     
    “What’s the matter, Gregory?” Carl asked the
next morning during our meeting. He rolled the Rs of my name, and
again I wished he was less of a decent person and would at least
take advantage of me a little. But when I opened my mouth I
realized this was not the man I wanted to confide in.
    “Nothing’s the matter,” I said, keeping my
head down.
    “I’ve had to repeat myself three times. You
never make me repeat myself. You look like you haven’t slept at
all.”
    Well, he wasn’t wrong. “I’m fine.” I rose to
my feet. “If that’s all, you know where I am if you need me.” Carl
said nothing as I left his office, but I could feel his eyes
burning holes in my back. The chance encounter with David had left
me unbalanced, and I didn’t want to spend the day stuck in my own
head.
    “Hey.” I knocked on Ashley’s open office
door.
    Ashley lifted his head, blinked once, and the
glazed-over look in his eyes disappeared. “Gregory, hey, come on
in.” His usually immaculate suit was a little rumpled this morning,
and I noticed a small patch of scruff in the dip of his jaw he’d
missed shaving.
    “We’re allowed to take a half day today,” I
said. “In preparation for the party tonight. I was wondering if you
wanted to go and grab lunch later.”
    “Lunch?” He blinked at me owlishly. He had on
black-rimmed glasses today, and I realized he usually wore
contacts.
    “Yes, you know, the meal between breakfast
and dinner, unless you’re a hobbit.”
    “Yeah,” he laughed, his cheekbones coloring a
little. “Sure.”
    “Ashley…” I took another step into his
office. “Are you all right? It’s only nine and you look wiped.”
    He rubbed his face. “I’m fine. Just a bit
tired.”
    Right. If tired meant so exhausted to the
bone he couldn’t see straight. A pang of sympathy went through me.
“Don’t move,” I said and turned on my heels. A minute later, I
barged into Carl’s office. “Is there anything urgent you need me to
take care of before I go?”
    “Go?” He glanced at the clock. “Nothing I
can’t handle. Is everything all right?”
    What Carl didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
“Yes. I still have to buy my Secret Santa gift, that’s all.” That
wasn’t a lie, but I technically had all afternoon to do that. Carl
didn’t point this out; his attention was already back on his
computer.
    “Sure. I’ll see you this evening,
Gregory.”
    Back at Ashley’s office in my coat, I said,
“Wrap up. We’re going.”
    “What? I can’t leave yet, I’ve got—”
    “Oh please, no one is doing anything but
pretending to work today. Come on, let’s go.”
    “Where are we going?” Ashley asked with a
tentative smile as he gathered his things.
    “Early lunch.” I grinned and he huffed a
laugh as he pulled on his dark-gray duffle coat, zipping it up and
doing the toggle buttons with nimble fingers. I led him through the
building, waving at people as we went but not letting anyone stop
us, though I could tell Amal would’ve liked to. Ashley would
probably let everyone tag along, and that wasn’t going to work with
what I had planned. Outside I said, “Let’s take my car. I’ll drive
you back for the party tonight.”
    “All right.” He didn’t offer any resistance,
and it had me worried. Not that I knew him all that well, but I
didn’t have to know him: just one look was enough to prove
something wasn’t right.
    It was a bright day, one of those
hard-on-your-eyes, fiercely sunlit mornings with light cascading
off all the snow heaped around the parking lot. The sharp light
caught Ashley’s hair, and as I squinted up at him I noticed it had
streaks of blond and red in it. It wasn’t average brown like I’d
thought.
    He leaned against my car with an easy smile.
“Has anyone ever told you that you look a little bit like