Penitence (2010) by Jennifer - Heavenly 02 Laurens Read Free Book Online Page A

the record. Theyre not dating anymore. Not that anyone cares. Nobody should care, I mean. Its so stupid to follow whos dating who in high school. For you maybe, Chase said. But there are a lot of guys who want to know if Brittany is available. I half-rolled my eyes. Of course. Not to mention the girls who are after Weston. But, hes different. I dont know, maybe it was the whole plague-like thing that hit him and Brady, but the guy isnt the same anymore. Thats what Britt said. Like how is he different? You know how he walks down the halls surrounded by tons of people? Not any more. He sticks to himself. I havent seen him this way since the football team lost by thirteen points to Lone Peak last season. And even then, he threw a killer pass, the interception wasnt his fault. You have a good memory. Chase nodded and slid his glasses up his nose. And I never see him stick around school for lunch. Only losers do that. But, lately Ive seen him wandering the halls. Alone. Man, I let out a breath. Thats weird. And Bradys always been kind of... a bully. Now, hes really being obnoxious. What do you mean? Hes in my Calc class, and the guy has just become one mean sucker. That doesnt surprise me. Id seen that streak firsthand. Both boys were losers as far as I was concerned. Its in his eyes. Something bad. Weston did stop me one day and ask if I knew anything about you. He shrugged, blushed. Maybe he thinks you and I are, you know. So what did you tell him? Just what I knew at the timethat you were still in the hospital in intensive care. I still cant believe all of this happened. You almost died, Zoe. I took a deep breath. Paused. I did die, Chase. His mouth fell open. I knew it! I knew it! He leaned close. I had a feeling that happened. No one would say anything, but when I went by the hospital to see you and saw that you were in the ICU, I had a feeling it was bad. Do you remember anything? I closed my eyes. Could I get through telling him without crying? Time wasnt easing pain or buffering the longing I still had for Matthias as much as I needed it to. Yes, I remember. I could barely hear my own voice, so soft and distant sounding. I kept my gaze on my twisting fingers, held in my lap, as I shared with Chase everything from the crash to the moment I woke up in the hospital. He blinked, his brown eyes wide behind his glasses. When I was finished, a heavy silence lay between us. Wow. Zoe, thats intense. I nodded, holding my quaking emotions in check. Yeah. And you havent seen Matthias since? No. Ive wondered why. Did I do something wrong? Did he do something wrong? It felt so rightboth of us togetherI didnt have any dark, bad feelings at all when it was happening. One minute hes your guardian, then next, youre back here and hes nowhere in sight. A pit opened in my stomach. Yeah. Who can know the answer to something like that? Other guardians, maybe. But, how would you get the chance to ask them about it? I did see my aunt yesterday. What?! Wow. Zoe, youre scoring more hits than Babe Ruth at a playoff game. What happened? Can you tell me? I glanced around, making sure we were still alone. We were, so I continued. I went upstairs to check on Abria. Shed been quiet for a while and I thoughtmaybe Matthias would show upbut my aunt was there instead. When I explained to Chase that Aunt Janis had no idea where Matthias was, only that he was gone for a while, a look of puzzlement fixed on his face. He blew out a breath. You can see why Im a little confused, I said. I can, but Zoe, your aunt... youre still seeing spirits. Youre incredibly lucky. Wow. This just... this is a mind blower to beat all mind blowers. He stood, paced. Think of what youve seen, what youve done. Youve gone places no one else has ever gone, Zoe. Well, theyve gone, but few have come back to tell about it. Its amazing. Im sure more people than me have gone to Paradise and lived, Chase. The last thing I wanted to do was think I was better than somebody else for the