My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) by M.L. Newman Read Free Book Online Page B

her eyes and sank into the corner of her seat, laying her head against the window. She closed off her mind, watching the streets pass by in a blur. The colors that once littered the trees now covered the grass and roads. The wind playfully swirled a few leaves from yard to yard as a memory started to come to mind.
    Dad was driving with Mom up front while Jim rode in the back with her. They had spent the day with their grandparents, but Dad had to work early in the morning. On the way home, it had begun raining pretty hard. Audra had become scared believing that the rain was trying to get her. That was a time when quite a few things scared her.
    “Don’t be stupid. The rain can’t get in the car ,” Jim had said.
    “Don’t call your sister stupid ,” Mom scolded.
    “Do you know why the rain is hitting the window at an angle?” Dad asked.
    “No,” Audra replied.
    “It’s the wind, blowing it. Can you guess how the wind works?” Dad asked.
    “Cars,” Audra replied.
    “Cars?” Dad asked.
    “Cars make the wind blow. They go so fast.” Audra stated.
    Mom and Dad had a chuckle at that. Jim ended up calling her stupid again and got put on punishment. It was clear even then at such a young age that science wasn’t going to be her strong suit.
    “Audra?” Molly asked.
    Audra glance d around her surroundings noticing that Molly was parked in front of her house. She must have dozed off. How strange. She collected her backpack and waved thanks to her friend.
    As she settle d into her room, she couldn’t remember where that memory came from. It was too real to be just a dream, and the fear she felt about the rain had continued until she met Stephen. He forced her to practice dancing in the sprinklers to get her through it. When it finally rained, they had dressed up in matching rain slickers and boots. His parents promised to watch from the doorway as Stephen took her hand and led her out into it. It was one of the fondest memories she held of him. But why had she been so afraid of the rain?

Chapter Four
     
    The suds swirled down the drain while Audra toweled herself dry. She slipped into lounge pants and a t-shirt before heading into her bedroom. Nothing like a hot shower to rinse off the sweat and release the tension in her shoulders after winning another volleyball game. This team had been as easy to beat as the first one.
    It didn’t stop the cheers roaring from the bleachers at the win. It didn’t lessen the passionate fight from both sides trying to end on a positive note. It didn’t make the victory any less sweet as the opposing team lost due to the inability to serve over the net. And it certainly didn’t leave an ego in its wake, not for Audra.
    Stephen and Chris were cheering boisterously , trying to one up each other. Molly enjoyed that more than she had. Audra was solely focused on her blocking, trying to jump higher and time it perfectly. She was almost convinced that Mateo wasn’t going to show after his comments. She was surprised to see him and Ryan sitting on the bleachers at the end of the match. However, Jim was waiting at the bottom ready to whisk her home before she even got the chance to say hello to anyone.
    Audra pull ed out the new book for English class to read a chapter and write up a page summary answering key questions. The assignment didn’t take long to accomplish and relieved more stress from her mind. She searched the Internet for a little while when a loud slam from the front door bolted her upright in bed. Audra jumped off the bed, swinging open her door only to see Mom’s horrified face and Dad’s turning a dark red at the foot of the stairs. She shut it over quickly before they noticed, leaving an opening to peek through.
    “ James, how could you?” Mom asked.
    “It’s not what you think —”
    “Don’t lie to us! We both saw what was going on!” Dad yell ed.
    “We were just fooling around, that’s all ,” Jim admitted.
    “You’re supposed to be setting an