Feral: Part One by Arisa Baumann Read Free Book Online Page B

would appeal more to the more old-fashioned part of his personality, but I also knew a great top paired with the perfect jeans and accessories would be a guarantee to draw his eyes to my more prominent assets.
    “Oh dear god,” I mumbled to myself as I dug through my closet. “I know I didn’t just think that. Sof, you are a terrible, terrible human being.” But even as I chided myself for my inappropriate thoughts, I realized I didn’t quite care as much as I would have in the past.
    I grinned as I pulled a black sundress from the closet. The red, dogwood-like flowers printed on the bottom would be enhanced with my cherry knit shrug. I briefly considered ruby flats, but opted for black, knee-high boots. One bun, lightly powdered face, and a chunky, red and black beaded necklace later, I was out of the house—I’d worry about my lip gloss when I made it to the school.
    Brie noticed the effort I made, as did Simon when were standing in the cafeteria line. Unfortunately, one other person noticed, and she did not hesitate to hassle me about it as I made my way to my medical terminology class.
    “So who is all of this for, Deery?” Madison inquired snidely, using her own annoying nickname for me. “Surely, not Cole?”
    I was so taken aback by her garish attire—jeans splashed with glitter, tucked into the most god-awful, neon green, furry boots and an equally flashy lime top that I swear would have been uncomfortably tight on a ten year girl—that I barely heard her words.
    Somehow I managed to recover from my distasteful shock, and blandly asked, “Why in the name of god would I be dressing up for Colton Malver?”
    “Oh, you haven’t heard?” Her voice oozed smug and spiteful glee. “Cole’s back in town for his mother’s birthday. He’s been gone for months now, and since he knows Louise misses him, he wanted to come back for her special day. He’s going to be here the whole weekend.” Her grin was practically vicious. “Didn’t you know?”
    “No,” was my simple reply.
    To say I spent the rest of my afternoon in sheer misery was an understatement of grotesque proportions. Classes were a nightmare, because I couldn’t focus and missed good chunks of the lecture that I knew I would need for future tests. And it wasn’t as if I was jealous that, apparently, Cole was close enough to Mads to keep in contact with her; it was that an almost painful knot of dread began to coil deep in the pit of my abdomen. I just could not shake the feeling that his return, however brief, was anything but bad news.
     
    In spite of Simon looking incredible in attractive, blue-black pants, white shirt and a charcoal blazer, I could not force myself to feel anything but trepidation, and the moment I approached the door of Barsetti’s, he knew something was wrong and did not hesitate to ask.
    I let out a heavy sigh as I let him guide me to our customary sitting place. I did not fail to notice that he took my left hand in both of his. “It seems Cole’s back home for the weekend.”
    “Cole?”
    I suddenly realized I had never  actually  said Cole’s name when talking about my ex-boyfriend with the instructor. I briefly pondered if it could have been a psychological, protective measure of some sort, when I noticed he was still waiting for an answer. “Cole, Colton Malver,” I said wearily. “And I’m hoping to god he doesn’t want to see me. Just knowing he’s home makes me uncomfortable. I don’t know why. It just does.”
    I watched as several emotions played across his features—astonishment, horror, anger, resignation—and was shocked by and curious about each one. I was more surprised when he raised his hands to his face and rubbed in a familiar way many people did when they received bad news and had some to share in return.
    I tried to keep the anxiety from my voice as I spoke to him, and tried even harder to not notice the flicker of disappointment in his eyes when I withdrew my hand from its place on