Piercing The Fold by Venessa Kimball Read Free Book Online Page B

I planned to grab something small after we closed.”
    Elisha has her arms crossed over her chest like a protective mother hen.
    “Closing time has come and gone for you, sweetheart. Your prof is going to get you some grub. Right, Mr. Kahn?”
    “Yes, we’re going to get some food right now.”
    The game that they are playing pisses me off. I grit my teeth. “Enough. I heard you while I was coming to. I know that you two know each other.”
    Ezra and Elisha look at each other with guilty eyes. A man interrupts from the checkout counter.
    “Excuse me, Miss.”
    Elisha looks over her shoulder then back at me. She puts her arm on my shoulder. “Hey, text me when you get in, okay.”
    She gives me a sorrowful look filled with apologies. I nod and look away. I don’t want to look at her right now. I might say something I will regret later.
    Ezra leads me out of the bookstore. The crisp air hits me as soon as the door opens. It helps bring me out of the dizziness I am trying to overcome.
    Ezra is on my heels. “That Elisha is a very good friend, Jes. I mean, she seems like she really is protective of you.”
    I start to walk more briskly from Benson’s toward Margot’s Deli. “She has been my best friend since we were in kindergarten. She knows everything about me…obviously.”
    I give Ezra a sharp look.
    Ezra looks down at the concrete as we walk. He blows out his lower lip and messes his hair, making it more out of sorts than it already is.
    I see I have ruffled his feathers and decide to push the issue. “What did I say? Oh, you didn’t think I was naïve to the fact that Elisha obviously knows more than she has let on about me. I mean she has been your personal spy, right?”
    I growl out of ultimate frustration. “Ahh!”
    Ezra steps in front of me to stop my brisk walking.
    “Here, let’s get some food at Margot’s. The Rueben is good, but the Club is phenomenal.” Ezra takes hold of my shoulder and leads me into the deli.
    Ezra orders for me. He makes sure that Sally packs them to go. I don’t argue. I know that he wants to talk to me about what just happened back at the store, so I let this domineering attribute be for now.
    We are walking out of the deli ten minutes later.
    “Where are we going?”
    Ezra walks briskly, holding the brown sack with our food and drinks. I try to keep up with his long strides.
    Why is he not answering me?
    I stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “Uh, hello? Where are we going?”
    Still walking, Ezra answers me. “We are going to campus. We can eat there and discuss what I should have told you sooner.”
    I jog a bit to catch up. “Wait. What did you say?”
    I feel the burning start in my throat and travel quickly to the pit of my stomach.
    He stops, turns, and looks at me firmly. “We will discuss it when we get there.”
    With that, he turns and keeps walking. I follow him closely now. My heart is pounding, wondering what he is going to tell me as soon as we get to his office on campus.

Chapter 9
    Ezra’s office is substantial for a professor. It looks more along the lines of a dean’s office. We sit at Ezra’s desk opposite each other and eat in silence. I finish quickly, wanting to get on with what he has to say. I stand and clear my side of the desk as the cue to start the conversation. I dispose of my trash and browse the shelves in the office as Ezra eats. My interest settles on an ant farm.
    I mumble sarcastically, “Friends of yours?”
    I remember having one when I was eight or nine years old. I would sit for long episodes giving each of them names, personalities, and story lines. They each had a distinct job in the farm. Their purpose was dictated by survival. There were bad days with death or a trapped ant that needed saving. There were good days associated with the cooperation of the ants for the greater good, digging a new passageway to the unknown. I was always so excited for the ants when they cleared the new passage. I knew the big picture of this