Lucid by A.K. Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

silently beg her to stop here...
    “It's green... muddy green. You're lying about something... hiding something. Now that leads me to wonder what exactly you don't want anyone to know.”
    She wore a cunning smile, it was the smile she wore when she won an argument without a single doubt in her mind. Ethan's suddenly pallor tone confirmed her victory. He was hiding something... but wasn't everyone? I only hoped that my uncomfortable feeling I had been getting around him had nothing to do with the secrets I was hiding.
    “Mercy, I only stopped by to see if you would be willing to work on our project at the library after school on Friday?”
    “Sure.”
    He simply inclined his head in our direction and then made his way out of the diner and back into the cold fall air. The whole exchange had felt off, and whatever caused it made my nerves go into overdrive.

Chapter 11
     
     
    Tonight was going to be hell. Not only did I have to run to keep from dying, since I promised Deegan and all. Now I had to deal with the overbearing humidity making it even more miserable to try. The thick moist air clung to my skin and caused my clothes to stick to my body with all the heavy perspiration from running for however long this was going to take.
    My nervousness since the first sound of a howl through this thick tropical forest continued to send short skittering bursts of panic through my body. My skin was puckered up as all my hair stood on end, hyper sensitive and waiting for the pulse pounding moment when I would have to fight for my life.
    Even as I ran harder and faster then I had ever run I knew it would catch up with me eventually unless Deegan showed up... maybe I had ruined it. Maybe he wouldn't be here since I had taken a nap and seen him during the day, even if he hadn't seen me... but I had promised, so I ran on anyways.
    As I continued the tiredness began to catch up and my breathing became harsh and ragged. My feet fumbled trying to find purchase in the soft tropical soil. As I rose up from the ground there was a cracking sound behind me and I knew that whatever monster was going to kill me today it was behind me. All my muscles tightened as I prepared to launch away from it, but before I could even let out a scream, the creatures strong arms grabbed onto me.
    “You're a hard girl to catch up with when you really try.”
    The deep burr of his voice was almost like a whisper, making my sweat slicked skin break out into an even worse case of goose flesh. When I turned to face him he was standing there with his arms at his sides, calm and collected.
    “That's a lie... your not even breathing hard.”
    His lip twitched almost hinting at a smile that never fully formed. “You're right that was a lie. You're really slow.”
    “Well excuse me for not being some... wolf... bear... thing...”
    “A wolf bear... thing? Is that what you think I am?” His heart melting hormone inducing smile was fully formed now, and in full effect. I had to turn away before he saw how red I knew my cheeks were becoming. If the burning sensation in them was any indication they were getting pretty damn red.
    “Okay, maybe the correct term would be werewolf then.”
    He let out a snort of derision before jogging ahead, indicating to me that I should follow. “I am no werewolf, and I would greatly appreciate you not calling me such.”
    “They're real?! You mean there are really werewolves?”
    “Of course there are.”
    That's when it hit me. The only reason he would say werewolves were real is if I subconsciously thought they were real. Just like every other monster that plagued me in my dreams and more recently my real life. Because he was only a figment of my subconscious thought anyways. Whenever this craziness goes away, if this craziness goes away, there will be no more Deegan. My dreams will go back to being a regular boring dreams about things that make no sense. Not that any of this makes any sense. But it will become mundane things that