Reawakened Secrets by Mari Denae Read Free Book Online Page B

fight. I expected that kind of thing from the other students, but not the adults, or at least not the teachers. Grades were supposed to be cut and dried. I had worked hard and been so proud to be able to graduate with Jackson and Alice.” I sighed, disappointed by how much the memory still affected me.
    “I tried to hide it from them, but they just wouldn’t let it go. I think it was the first time they had ever seen me cry. I went to school early the next day. I was too embarrassed to face them. Jackson and Alice showed up with both of their fathers and went straight to the principal’s office. I still don’t know what they threatened him with, but it worked. Since they were the two richest families in the school, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Principal Barnaby crumbled like a fortune cookie. By lunch time, I was officially the valedictorian and had three glowing letters of recommendation for Yale in my hand. I really appreciated what they did, but there was no joy in it anymore.”
    I looked up and saw everything I expected in his eyes, the shock; the pity. “Dozer, I don’t care if they’re both Jesus reincarnated to anoint you as their faithful disciple. You’ve worked hard to be where you are, but you’re about to blow it.”
    “I’m not-”
    “Listen to me,” he interrupted sharply. “Settle this mess and do it fast.”
    “Wow! That sounds so easy. Why didn’t I think of that?”
    “Don’t be a smartass.”
    I scrubbed my hands across my face and tried to battle back the frustration and hopelessness. “You just don’t get it. Jackson and Alice: it’s not so easy to hurt them. I know what I have to do. I just don’t know how I will ever be able to do it. So you tell me, Adam, what now?” His lips pressed together in a tight line. He was trying so hard to be good. His face was turning red, and I swear to God he looked like he was going to pass out from a lack of oxygen any second. “Just say it.”
    Raking his hand through his hair, Adam took a deep breath before letting loose. “Dozer, if I were being honest, I would say fuck him. And I mean that literally. Fuck him right out of your system until you can see what an asshole he is. Then punch him in the nuts and hit him right between his eyes with the revelations you just shared with me. That’s what he deserves.”
    My mouth dropped open and a strangled “Adam,” passed through my stunned lips before he continued.
    “But since I promised to be sensitive to your girlie feelings blah, blah bullshit, I guess I’ll just say—tell him the truth. Don’t fuck around and wait. Do it now, today, yesterday if you could.”
    And that little nugget of goodness was Adam in a nutshell. How he still shocked and endeared himself to me with shit like that was a mystery, but, somehow it worked for me. I think it was because he was real, and that was something I only had with Jackson and Alice until Adam.
    “Tell him the truth—check. Anything else, Master Yoda?”
    “Yeah, you know how much I believe in you. You’re my mini me. I wouldn’t share all the magnificence that is me with you otherwise. But, this is your one and only chance. Leave your personal shit at home. As soon as you step one foot in this hospital, your patients’ lives better be the only thing on your mind. Otherwise, you’ll be off my surgical rotation. Got it?”
    “Got it.”
    “Good. Now let’s go cut someone open.”

    My surgery was finally over. It felt good to have one success for the day. High on a sense of accomplishment, I ambled to the nurses’ station to get the chart for my next patient. Taking up an entire corner of the counter was a massive bouquet of sterling roses. Without a doubt I knew the first strike had been launched. I’d always admired those exact roses in the Haven Hill Estate garden. Jackson, Alice, and I had spent countless hours playing hide-and-seek there. The flowers, their aroma, and the authentic crystal vase were all spectacular.
    This was