First Came You (Fate #0.5) by Faith Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

have no intention of being settled down like you and Tommy. You only live once and I plan on living it up!”
    I shake my head at my friend—she has no idea that being in love with your soul mate is living it up.
    “Maria! Time for dinner,” Maria’s mom announces and knocks on her door before entering.
    “Oh hey, Gabby. Would you like to stay? There’s more than enough.”
    I take notice of the clock on Maria’s desk and shoot up out of the bed. “I didn’t realize the time! Thank you so much for asking, but I better get home. My parents are probably wondering where I am.”
    We say our goodbyes and I head home, hoping Mom and Dad aren’t too pissed that I wasn’t there to help them unload the car and put away the groceries. But the door is locked when I get there—weird, since they always leave it open when they’re home. The phone is ringing off the wall as I put my key in the lock and I instantly wonder why no one’s answering it.
    The ringing stops just as I get to it, and realize that the house is empty. “Mom? Dad?” I call. Where can they be? Something’s not right.
    The phone rings again, and all sorts of bad scenarios start to run through my head.
    Staring at the phone, unable to move, I look down at my arms—clenched around my stomach—and notice the hairs standing at attention. Something unknown propels me to answer. I pick up the receiver, hoping I’m only imagining this unsettling feeling. “Hello, Rossi residence.”
    My sister’s tone is sharp, frenzied. “Gabby! For the love of God, where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you for hours. The police—”
    “Whoa! Hold up. Calm down a second, Gina. What’s the matter? What happened?” She’s scaring me. I try not to jump to terrifying conclusions, but there’s this ominous fear in the air, and my parents aren’t home, and—I just can’t shake this feeling.
    Without any warning or cushioning, my sister lets out a gut-wrenching wail. “They’re dead! Oh my god, Gabby, they’re dead!”
    My heart sinks to my toes.
    Her words sting like sharp razor blades piercing through my skin. Something inside me knows who she’s talking about, but I don’t even want to think it. So, I scream back in fear, “Who, Gina? Who? ”
    Her sobbing is uncontrollable, her tormented moans unrelenting. Words are emitted but they’re indecipherable screams.
    “Gina! Calm down! You’re scaring me. Speak slower, clearer. What’s going on?”
    Her hysterics cease for a brief second to answer me and when she does, I wish she hadn’t. “Mommy and Daddy.”
    As the words leave her lips and poison my ears, I hang on to any thread of hope. As horrible as it sounds, I want it to be someone else’s parents, leaving the two people I need most in my life alone, letting them be okay. “Whose, Gina? Whose Mommy and Daddy?”
    “Ours, Gabby. Our Mom and Dad are gone. They’re dead.”
    The response echoes in my ears like a horrifying boom.
    My vision blurs, the corners of my eyes invaded by blackness.
    My stomach burns, causing blazing heat to travel up to my throat, and a sheen of sweat to prickle my upper lip. Panic sets in, and my legs go wobbly. I can only conclude that if this is true, my happy, perfect life as I know it is over.
    “Nooooo!” I scream, letting the tears take over. How will I never see them again, never hug them again, never tell them I love them again? The sobs rack my body, causing me to shake so fiercely I fear I might convulse.
    This can’t be happening. I can’t be hearing right. This can’t be right. Dead? My parents? How can my parents be dead? They were just going grocery shopping! They were just here! How did this happen?
    With no one around to answer me, or to hold and comfort me, I feel utterly helpless.
    I’m lost.
    Completely alone.
    Scared out of my mind.
    With that last thought, the phone falls from my lifeless grip and hangs by its cord, bobbing up and down like a bungee rope.
    I stare at the unwelcome