Grim Crush (Grimly Ever After) by S.L. Bynum Read Free Book Online Page A

couldn’t, and then something else happened so I was delayed even longer…” I felt on the verge of tears.
    “Xia, it’s okay! You didn’t lie intentionally. I’m not mad.”
    I sniffed, wiping my eyes. “Really?”
    “Yeah. Wow, you really don’t like lying to people, do you?”
    “But I thought…do people lie around here?”
    “Yeah, all the time. It’s not a crime.”
    “I thought hum–I mean, Americans–didn’t lie. At least, not the good people.”
    Shilah stared at me like I was crazy–how he was always staring at me. “Where did you hear that ?”
    “Isn’t it a…sin?”
    Shilah laughed. “People don’t care. I don’t think there’s one person alive who’s never lied.”
    “ Really ?” I wish I could break rules all the time like that. I broke codes, not rules.
    “Yes, really. Don’t Italians lie?”
    “Well…yeah, but I thought things were different here. I thought lying was unforgivable. I guess I still have a lot to learn.” I was starting to think I’d never understand humans.
    “I can teach you. What do you want to know?”
    So for the next half hour, Shilah talked about a lot of things I was curious about. I tried not to make my questions too ridiculous. For now, he assumed I came from another country. I didn’t want him wondering if I came from another planet .
    Since I had to report to my superiors later to hear my punishment, I might as well tell them about Shilah too. But first, I wanted to know if his family could see me.
    So today, I told Shilah I had to leave, even though it was a half hour before I needed to respond to a bus accident. He didn’t ask any questions; he just hugged me and went on his way.
    Now came the hard part. For this, I wish I could become invisible in Shilah’s eyes. But a reaper had mad stealth skills, so I crept quietly from tree to tree, following behind Shilah as he headed toward the nearest town.
    For the most part, Shilah seemed unaware he was being followed. Once, a snake slithered across some dry grass, and Shilah looked back. I quickly withdrew my head, pressing my back against the rough bark of the tree I hid behind. He must not have seen me, because the next time I looked, he was walking forward again with his back to me.
    After trailing him for nearly a mile, Shilah made his way down a steep incline toward a two-story blue house. It must’ve been ancient because it was missing roof shingles, and the paint was peeling.
    I waited, peering between the leaves of a tall bush as Shilah headed to the front door of the house. Before he went inside, however, a vehicle I knew was an SUV pulled up in the gravel driveway. Shilah turned and went to greet the two people inside it.
    The man and woman who stepped out must’ve been his parents because they had bronze skin and silky black hair just like him. The woman said something to Shilah, pointing toward the back of the SUV. He nodded and went to the trunk, lifting the door and grabbing three brown grocery bags. I knew they were most likely filled with human nourishment. Food, in other words.
    Shilah headed into the house while his parents went to grab more grocery bags. Now was my chance.
    I jogged toward them, watching the house to make sure Shilah wasn’t about to come out.
    “Hi,” I said to Shilah’s mom.
    She didn’t acknowledge me as she hefted two grocery bags from the trunk. To her husband, she said, “Aren’t your parents coming for dinner tonight?”
    “I believe so,” replied Shilah’s father, taking two jugs of water from the SUV. I waved my hand in his face. He stared through me and said, “And don’t worry, I told Mama not to bring another dead rodent again.”
    “Good. Does she really think her… trinkets fend off death?”
    Shilah’s dad shrugged. “Who knows what goes on inside that old mind of hers.” The parents chuckled as they began walking away.
    Well, it was a good thing I didn’t let Shilah introduce me to his family. His parents would’ve thought he