Forever Blue by Abby Wilder Read Free Book Online

he found some crumpled jeans, a tee shirt and his leather jacket discarded in a pile, and pulled them on. He didn't bother to clean the mud from his arms, or smooth back the hair that was dangling in his eyes. It wasn't Judah's style.
    Cara's house was set in the middle of a paddock and surrounded by broken cars, thanks to her dad's auto shop which was situated in the large shed off to the side of the house. Her family moved to town when she was eleven, and my father hated it, claiming that their presence brought down the value of all the properties in the area. He had been petitioning for the house to be demolished before the Armistead's bought it.
    Cara hated growing up in our small town. She hated that everyone knew her name, and that she couldn't take a step without someone having an opinion on which direction she was walking. But I liked it. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. In a city, I would be one among thousands. Here, everybody knew my name, and unlike Cara, I loved that. So Cara was excited when she left for boarding school. She was finally getting away from this town, this life that had her trapped. But when her mother's illness grew worse, she had to come back to the place she wanted to forget existed.
    I guess that's why I kissed her when I did. She didn't give a damn. She lived the way she wanted and to hell with the consequences. She didn't care about grades or making some sports team. She wasn't consumed with how she looked, or what others thought of her. She was nothing like me.
    We were at a party one weekend when it happened. Parties were common in my town. It was the last weekend before Cara left. She would be back each school holidays, but I guess I wasn't thinking about that. All I thought about was the way she offered her soft lips. The way she looked at me with complete adoration when she never looked at anyone like that. Judah knew she liked me. It had been the cause of many fights over the years. I never wanted to kiss her. I never wanted to take her away from him. It was a stupid thing I did.
    I never told Judah about it. I knew it would break his heart.
    Judah almost smiled when Cara bounded out of the house. Dressed simply in ripped jeans, a striped black and white singlet and a faded red jacket, she looked nothing like the girls I normally dated. My last girlfriend before her had been the type my parents approved of, pretty, and from a well-off family. Cara was neither of those things. But there was something about Cara that seemed to attract boys. Well, the Mitchell boys, anyway. I wound down the window and thumped the side of the car in greeting.
    "Careful," Judah said. Even though the doors were rusted and the paint was patched across the body, the 1973 Ford Fairlane was his pride and joy. I suspected the only reason he let me drive was because we were picking Cara up and she loved his car almost as much as he did. I stepped on the accelerator and revved the engine, waving at her to hurry. Cara's little sister followed her out of the house and leaned against the post that held up the sagging porch, scowling so hard her face was barely recognisable.
    "Hey Lana," I called out and waved. She didn't reply. She was too busy throwing daggered looks at her sister. They looked alike, both skinny with long hair, thick eyebrows and small faces which had the ability to clearly display what they were thinking. And in this case, Lana Armistead was pissed.
    "Stay," Cara flung over her shoulder, much like she was talking to a dog. She turned and gave me a slow smile, a smile I hoped Judah didn't notice.
    "So you come home to party and leave me to look after Mum?" Lana yelled after her. "I thought you came back to help."
    "Yes, that's right," Cara said, yanking the door open and standing with her hand resting on the roof of the car. "I've come home from boarding school, which I loved, by the way, just to go to a lame party. It's one night Lana. Get over it."
    "One night?" Lana replied, her voice rising