Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1) by Christine Kersey Read Free Book Online Page A

is especially good.”
    I felt my eyebrows furrow. “Is there something wrong with the veggie burger?”
    “Oh no. It’s fantastic.” She smiled, showing straight white teeth framed by bright red lips.
    “Then why would I want the soup?”
    She glanced in the direction of my waist, then met my eyes. “Veggie burger it is.”
    When she turned around to give the order to the cook, I looked down at my stomach self-consciously and sat up straighter, sucking in my gut. That was twice today someone had suggested I needed to lose weight. I couldn’t believe how rude some people were.
    A short time later the waitress placed my order in front of me, a look of disapproval on her face. I almost said something rude to her, but instead asked if she had a phone book I could look through. A moment later she placed one on the counter next to my plate and I eagerly flipped to the C’s. Running my finger down the page, I saw there were a lot of Campbell’s. My finger stopped when I reached Campbell, Steven and Roxanne . My gaze followed my finger as it moved to the address listed across from the name.
    I blinked to make sure I had read it correctly and frowned as I confirmed that the address was the address of the house I had so recently left. The house with the woman who said she didn’t know where my family had gone.
    I stared at the page without seeing it, my thoughts racing, then pushed the phone book away. I looked at my veggie burger and found my appetite had diminished. Knowing my funds were limited and that it might be a while before I had the chance to eat a hot meal, I forced myself to eat half of the burger and asked for a box to put the rest in.
    The waitress smiled with apparent approval that I hadn’t eaten the whole thing and I decided I wouldn’t leave her a tip. She placed an empty box next to my plate and turned away to refill a customer’s coffee mug.
    Before I left I decided to look at the address once more, just to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I looked at all the Campbell’s near my parents’ names and didn’t see any others that were similar. My gaze wandered to the next column and settled on a name that I recognized.
    Candee, Mitchell and Tiffany
    Those must be Rochelle Candee’s parents, I thought, elated. There were no other Candee’s in the listings. I didn’t know Rochelle very well, but she sat next to me in two of my classes and had been reasonably friendly. I tended to keep to myself so I hadn’t made many friends since we’d moved here. Okay, let’s be honest. I’d only made acquaintances, not friends. I didn’t know anyone all that well.
    But still, seeing a name I recognized gave me the tiniest bit of hope, hope that I desperately needed. I wrote down her phone number and address in my notebook, then called the waitress over and showed her the address. “Do you know where this is?”
    She touched the notepad with her long red nails. A red that matched her lipstick, I noticed, then smiled at me. “Sure, hon. I know right where that is.” She pointed out the window in the general direction I had come from. “You go on down Main Street until you get to the Green Leaf Bookstore. Then you make a left and go two blocks. Then you take a right and go three blocks. There’s a little park there and you’ll find that street right by the park.”
    I wrote furiously in my notebook, knowing there was no way I could remember the directions otherwise. “Thank you.” I placed the box with my leftover hamburger in my backpack, hoping I would regain my appetite before the bacteria started growing on the warm food. I wondered if bacteria grew slower on a veggie burger than on a real hamburger.
    I paid for the meal and ended up leaving a tip since the waitress had been helpful after all, then left the diner and headed in the direction she had pointed out.
     

Chapter Six
     
    The Green Leaf Bookstore wasn’t far from the diner and I stopped in front of it, looking at the window display. My