Fury by Elizabeth Miles Read Free Book Online Page A

Rolling over, she came face-to-face with Cordy, half buried beneath the mountain of pillows that Em slept between every night.
    When she saw Cordy, her heart leaped as she remembered last night: Zach’s knowing smile, his hand on her waist, his desire to hang out over vacation. Vacation, which started today. Gabby was leaving in just a few hours, and tomorrow was Christmas Eve.
    Em would be on her own, free to spend time with Zach.
    Except, she couldn’t. Not after what he’d said last night—did he suspect how she felt? She couldn’t let him know. Her head hurt thinking about it.
    And then, faintly, from underneath the pillow, she heardthe phone ring. Gabby. Em knew that she had to answer it, but a part of her didn’t want to. She let it ring twice more before picking the phone up gingerly and saying hello.
    “Hey, babe,” Gabby said brightly. “Hope I didn’t wake you! We’re leaving for the airport soon, and I wanted to say good-bye. Also, do you think I should bring that white bikini I bought last summer, or do you think that’s weird for a family trip?”
    “Why would it be weird?” Em sat up, trying to get into the conversation.
    “Because it’s so skimpy.”
    Em laughed. Gabby did have a truly endearing sense of innocence, of wanting to make people happy. And just like that came the surge of guilt, so strong it turned Em’s stomach. Gabby was her best friend. What was she thinking?
    “It’s not so bad, I don’t think. Wear it when you’re at the beach without your parents.”
    “Okay. Totally. I’ll only wear it when they go sightseeing or whatever,” Gabby said, and then she sighed deeply. Em waited. Was Gabby about to say something about Zach? She wanted so badly to spill her heart, to analyze every move with Gabby the way they would have if this were any other crush. The silence made her chest hurt. She could feel her ears getting red, as they did whenever she lied. “Jeez, I’m hungover,” Gabby finally said. “I feel totally brain-dead. Good thing I get to sit on a plane for seven hours tonight.”
    “Yeah, you were a little drunk last night,” Em said, remembering the way Gabby had stumbled down the hall and into Zach’s arms. He had morphed so quickly from flirtatious Zach to boyfriend Zach. “Did you throw up?”
    “Ugh, yeah.” Gabby groaned. “When I got home. Thank god I didn’t do it in front of Zach. That’s the last time I drink that punch, seriously. I woke up wearing all my clothes. I even had Zach’s coat on! You didn’t ever find mine last night, did you?”
    “I ransacked the bedroom. It wasn’t there. Are you sure you didn’t put it in the closet?”
    Gabby sighed. “No. I definitely threw it on the bed. Oh, well. Maybe someone took it by accident or something.”
    Em knew this was unlikely; Gabby’s coat, with its rhinestone heart pin and hot-pink lining, was one of her trademarks. But she said, “Yeah. Probably. I’m sure it will turn up.”
    “Ugh.
Promise
me you won’t let me drink like that anymore.”
    “Deal. No punch for you, lady.”
    “Okay. I gotta go finish getting my stuff together,” Gabby said. “I’ll miss you so much. If I meet a hot Spaniard, I’ll totally send him your way. And seriously, I really can’t wait to hang out when I get back,” Gabby added out of the blue. “To really spend some quality time together, you know? Boston day and movies and a sleepover.”
    “Have fun, Gabs,” Em said. “I’ll miss you.” As soon as shesaid it, she realized how true it was. She never did anything without Gabby.
    “Bye, Em. Remember to keep an eye on Zach while I’m away!”
    Em swallowed down the fist in her throat. “Okay,” she croaked out.
“À bientôt, escargot!”
Em started saying this after she spent three weeks studying French the summer after freshman year. It meant “see you soon, snail.” It was ridiculous but she’d never been able to break the habit and now it had become their ritual for saying