Exit Point by Laura Langston Read Free Book Online Page B

when I’m going to fail anyway?
    “Barbara, we’ve been over this. Nothing happened,” Dad says. “We need to put this behind us.”
    “Herb’s always shown Amy a lot of attention,” Mom murmurs. “Too much in a way.” The coffee hits the pot with a splatter and a hiss.
    Dad’s eyes flash angrily. “What are you suggesting?”
    Mom shrugs. Her wise self has gotten her attention and it won’t let go. “I don’t know. Something about this doesn’t feel right, that’s all.”
    “This is Herb we’re talking about,” Dad says. “We’ve known him for over twenty-five years. He’s a father. A husband. A good man.”
    Mom looks away. “Maybe,” she says softly.
    Dad glares at her. “Herb is a pilot, for God’s sake. A captain . Pilots fly planes, keeppeople safe. They don’t go around hurting people.”
    Mom thinks, That is the dumbest thing Robert has said in years .
    I agree. Mom knows that evil can wear any uniform.
    But I know where Dad is coming from. He won’t let himself think that Herb would hurt Amy. If he thought that, he would have to admit that he failed as a father. That he failed to keep his daughter safe.
    And for my dad, failure is never an option.
    Unlike me. I was born to fail.

Chapter Ten
    “Oh, for heaven’s sakes, Logan, quit feeling sorry for yourself.” Gran is beside me. I feel her hand on my arm. I smell cigarette smoke and her musky perfume. “You weren’t born to fail any more than I was born to be a supermodel.”
    We are in a dark, tunnel-like space, whipping up and down hills and going around corners with roller-coaster speed. Brilliantstar clusters—or maybe they are entire galaxies—flash by faster than I can blink. I am too stunned to speak. One minute I am in the kitchen with my parents; the next minute I am here. Wherever here is.
    Wade’s voice comes from my right. “This is the route you took when you died,” he says. Back then, you were asleep. Now you’re awake.”
    Up ahead is a warm, welcoming light. I know that beyond it lies the garden, the round building with the robed ones, the crystal city. Wade has yanked me back! “I want to stay with Amy.”
    “You don’t have a choice,” Wade says. “You have to come back regularly to recharge.”
    “You never told me that.” The light is growing brighter. We are nearing the end of the tunnel.
    “I never told you a lot of things.”
    We burst out of the tunnel into dazzling brightness. It’s like sunlight on steroids. There are others nearby, but I see only vague shapes. I look down at my fading self andrealize that pretty soon I’ll be a vague shape too. We drift through the warm air. I know without being told that we are heading for the round place.
    Gran reaches over and pats my hand. “You did good.”
    I can’t remember Gran ever patting my hand. I wait for her to add, “Too bad you failed.” She doesn’t. Wade gives me a satisfied nod. I stare from one to the other. “But I didn’t stop Herb. Amy’s still in trouble. I didn’t do good at all.”
    “Yes, you did. For once, you didn’t run away from a challenge,” Gran says.
    “That wasn’t a challenge, that was an impossibility .” A picture of Amy’s scared gray eyes flashes through my mind. And Herb’s evil blue ones. Panic rises. “I need to get back. Amy needs me.” I try to stop moving, but it’s like I’m on a cosmic conveyor belt. A force beyond my control keeps me going forward.
    “Keep yer shirt on, Logan,” says Gran. “You’ll be going back soon enough. You’re not done yet.”
    Wade practically groans. “Arlene, we agreed to give Logan a little time before we told him. He needs to rest.”
    “Told me what? And what do you mean, I’m not done yet?”
    Out of the mist, a slot machine appears. We stop in front of it. “You have to see this!” Gran’s brown eyes dance as she pulls me forward.
    I don’t care about gambling. Not now. Not while Amy’s in trouble.
    Gran reads my thoughts. “This has nothing