Falling From the Sky by Nikki Godwin Read Free Book Online Page B

into the plate of noodles and stuff my mouth so I won’t have to say anything else, especially about the rabbits.
    “Uncle Mike didn’t tell me that part. That’s cool,” Abby says.
    She stuffs her mouth with a hush puppy, and from the look of her bulging cheeks, it’ll be a minute or two before she can speak again.
    Micah hasn’t said a word. By the smirk on his face, I can only imagine the stupid things he’s thinking about me right now. He hands his plate to Zoey as she heads to the kitchen.
    Jade stares at me again in that awkward, dissecting-me-in-her-head kind of way that I hate.
    “Do you live in a real house or a house like Micah’s?” she asks once her mom is out of the room. She says it in a low voice, so I get the feeling she’s not supposed to ask that.
    “Micah lives in a real house,” I say in the same low voice.
    “No, he doesn’t,” she argues. “He lives in an Indian house, not a real house.”
    Micah sighs and leans back against the couch. This must not be the first time he’s gone through this.
    “My house looks a little different on the outside, but it’s kind of the same,” I tell her. “It has a living room, kitchen, bedrooms, the whole deal.”
    “My house is brick,” Jade replies. Her hand flies to her mouth, like if she covers it, the words won’t go any farther than my ears.
    Zoey crosses her arms in the doorway. “Jade, what have I told you? Micah’s house is just like everyone else’s. It’s just on a reservation, and ours is in the city.”
    She looks over to her brother. “I’m sorry, Micah.”
    Micah just shrugs as if it’s no big deal. His face says that he’s bothered, but I don’t think he’d dare tell his sister that something bothers him, especially something a little kid says.
    Jade jumps at an attempt at redemption. “I like him better than Taylor.”
    “Bring me your plate and go outside!” Zoey yells. “Abby, you too.”
    Both girls scramble to their feet and hand their mostly-empty plates over to their mom. Then they rush out the front door, leaving me sitting on the floor with Micah. This is actually becoming ridiculous. It’s that giant elephant in the middle of the room that everyone knows is there, including me, but no one dares speak of. But this elephant really stands out, like a toxic green elephant who was rejected by the freak show. And unlike most unmentioned elephants sitting in living rooms, this one has a name – Taylor.
    I grab my own plate and follow Zoey’s path into the kitchen. She tells me I can just leave the plate in the sink and disappears before I can say anything to her. Micah appears in her place, though.
    “I need to be honest with you about something,” he says as soon as I turn around. “Can we talk?”
    I pray this is the elephant talk and follow him into his bedroom. I close the door behind us and lean back against it, just in case this goes badly and I need to run. It’s always nice to know your escape route.
    “I just want you to hear it from me instead of Jade because she gets the wrong idea about things, and I don’t want her to freak you out,” he explains.
    I hate to tell him, but I’m already freaked out. Micah paces the room and avoids eye contact with me.
    “Okay, so Taylor, my ex,” he says. “Taylor was...”
    Now I know it’s about to get bad because he can’t even say it. I could say it and pretend I’m just guessing and relieve him from having to go through telling me, but I can’t speak. Micah stops in front of his dresser and braces himself against it with both hands, staring at the carpet.
    “Taylor’s a guy. He’s my ex-boyfriend.” His eyes never leave the carpet.
    I don’t know what’s appropriate to ask, and I don’t want to give off homophobic vibes by asking the wrong things too soon because I’ve always thought I was pretty open-minded.
    “Are you freaked out yet?” he asks. He slowly brings his head up and looks toward me.
    “No,” I say.
    I’m half-serious and