Phase (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #1) by Michelle Irwin Read Free Book Online

myself?”
    “Don’t you go giving her any ideas,” Dad said, coming back out from the kitchen with a goofy smile on his face. At least the time alone with Mum had put him in a good mood.
    “Not until you’re an adult,” I said to Beth, making sure Dad knew I wasn’t filling her head with dangerous thoughts.
    “You’re not an adult.”
    “I’m not a kid either.” I winked at her. “I’m almost eighteen.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad frown. Great. I’d just reminded him of my upcoming birthday, and the fact that he was so certain he was going to lose me after that. The way he talked about it, anyone would have thought I had my bags packed and waiting by the door for that magic birthday. It was pointless trying to tell him that legally I could have moved out almost two years ago. I think my upcoming birthday reminded him that he’d already been living his dream alone in Sydney by my age—and that Mum had me before she’d hit the magic one-eight mark.
    I met Dad’s gaze and went to reassure him I wasn’t planning on either moving or kids just yet. Before I got a word out, Nikki grabbed at the pink streak in my hair and tugged it toward her mouth. I gave a small cry of surprise before lifting my hand to prise her fingers away from my hair. “Let’s go get you settled for a bit, shall we?” I asked as I swung her onto my other hip.
    I walked to the living room. For a moment, I watched Parker tackling the race onscreen. His brow furrowed and his tongue poked out the corner of his mouth as he focused his entire concentration on the car. Glancing at the TV, it was clear he was a long way behind the leader and even with the rubber-banding the game did, it didn’t seem likely he’d get up into any decent placing.
    “You need to hit the racing line better,” I said, sitting beside him and swinging Nikki onto my lap. “That way you can brake and accelerate more efficiently.”
    He huffed out a breath.
    “See, there,” I said as he took a corner with too much speed and oversteered his way out of it. “You carried too much speed through that corner. If you’d slowed down a little to hit the apex, you would have actually gone through faster.”
    “I just don’t get it!” Parker cried, passing the controller to me and leaving his car stalled in the middle of the track while the computer AI competitors raced past to lap him. I wrapped my arms around Nikki to make sure she didn’t run off and then held the controller tight as I set about making up the lost ground.
    For the first few laps, I just got into the groove until I’d gained back the lap and was catching back up to the other cars.
    “You wanna hit the corner in the way that best maximises your speed while minimising the time you’re turning,” I said to Parker as I demonstrated on the screen.
    “But how do you know where that is?”
    “You read the track. See, this one is a sweeping bend, so I don’t have to brake much at all. I want to start on the outside, and then drift around the curve carrying as much speed as I can.”
    He looked between the screen and the controller in my hand as if some magic secret would reveal itself in the motions I made. “I just don’t see it.”
    Dad appeared then and plucked Nikki off my lap. I glanced away from the TV to watch him, wondering why he’d come to help me out. I was doing okay. In fact, I was enjoying being with my brothers and sisters again. Even though I’d only been gone a couple of days, I’d missed them. I hated to think how bad it would be if I was away from them longer. Like going overseas to the US for a decent holiday. My mouth curled downward.
    “It’s bath time,” Dad said in explanation after seeing the expression on my face.
    It seemed pointless to tell him my frown had nothing to do with him grabbing Nikki and everything to do with worrying about going overseas because he’d be inclined to tell me not to go.
    I nodded and then turned my full focus back to the