Imdalind 01 - Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington Read Free Book Online

over and sat next to him on the small couch, intending to watch whatever he had engrossed himself in, but his leg spasms were vibrating the whole couch.
    “Knock it off. I feel like I’m in a blender.” I pushed him sideways with all my strength but he hardly moved. He only started shaking more, making odd buzzing noises in an attempt to mimic a blender. I laughed before sliding off the couch to get away from him. His buzzing sounds grew as he followed me onto the floor, his large form toppling me over to smother me in his weird body-blender. I screeched through my hysterical laughter and slammed my elbow into his side in a desperate attempt to get him off me. He stopped shaking as he rolled away to lay beside me. We laid on the floor, side by side, our arms and legs pressed together as our laughter died out.
    “Will you come with me tonight?” he asked, his voice sounding nervous for some reason.
    “To your Rugby game?” I asked, my voice still chuckling as the last of the laughter escaped me.
    “Yeah, you can be my lucky charm. Maybe I’ll score the winning goal. Besides, it’ll be good for you to stop moping around this place.” He turned his head, winked at me, and I was hit with the same vision again: his hand against the small of my back, his face pressed against mine. I sighed, nodding my head yes in defeat. I was in big trouble.

Four

    Ryland drove us to the Rugby game a few hours later, after making me endure two hours of infomercials that he found hysterical. To the standard middle class, things like Oxy-Clean and exercise videos were practical; to Ryland they were hysterical ideas that no one would ever utilize. I just rolled my eyes at him. Sometimes his innocence of everyone’s normal existence was irritating, not endearing. He learned about rotisserie roasters and paint sprayers and almost bought a leopard print snuggie, insisting that I needed one. It wasn’t until we pulled into the parking lot at Whittier Academy that I began to second guess my decision to come with him.
    Ryland pulled his Lotus into a spot close to the locker rooms where a variety of other expensive cars were clustered. Ryland’s canary yellow car looked a bit out of place next to all the black, while equally expensive cars, that surrounded us. I got out and leaned against the back of the car while Ryland extracted his duffle bag from the small shelf behind the seats.
    The campus of Whittier Academy was acre after acre of tall broadleaf trees with large flagstone buildings tucked among them. From the parking lot, I could see the large stadium, a few tennis courts and a neatly cut field next to a stable. Set away from the sporting arena was the first of what I could only assume were academic buildings or dorms, but nothing was labeled so I couldn’t be sure.
    The whole campus had been taken care of with absolute perfection. The trees were groomed, each hedge squared. The ivy growing up the side of the building trailed through the stone with eerie precision. Even the long stretch of cobblestone road we traveled seemed to be cared for with extreme diligence. The whole facility screamed wealth and privilege. I felt like a blob of dirt on its sparkling floors.
    I shoved all of my hair into my hoodie, making sure my right ear and the mark were covered, and smoothed out my dirty jeans as I tried to cover up my flaws. Somehow, growing up with Ryland, being with him every day, I never felt out of place; but, being here, at his school, I could feel the gap between us widen. He walked toward me with his rugged strut, and I sank against the car, trying for the first time since I was five to disappear from Ryland.
    “What’s up, Jos?” he said, wrapping his fingers around my elbow. “Are you okay?”
    “Yes... I mean no... I mean...” He smiled at me and I felt my insides melt. “I don’t belong here, Ry. This isn’t my world.”
    “What do you mean, this isn’t your world? You are part of my world, so you do belong here.” His