Scars and Songs by Christine Zolendz, Frankie Sutton, Okaycreations Read Free Book Online Page B

looked around the apartment for signs of Grace. Maybe she was out already. Maybe she spent the night somewhere else. With someone else. The thought bothered me more than it should have.
    “I ʼm ready to run, coffee when we get back,” I answered.
    Conner agreed and ran off in search of his running shoes. Lea walked back into the living room and curled up on the couch.
    “Are you feeling okay?” I asked. “Maybe we shouldnʼt leave you alone here?” Loaded question .
    “I just drank too much last night. I got some bad news and I couldn ʼt handle it,” she sighed. “Iʼll be fine. Grace is home with me so I wonʼt be alone. Thanks though.”
    She picked up her eReader that rested on the edge of the couch and opened it, ending our conversation. I was going to ask her about the bad news, but I guess she assumed that I wouldn ʼt and she started reading. Wow, how callous and cold does she think I am?
    Conner came into the room ready to go, so we just took off. I was pretty bummed that I didn ʼt get to see Grace. She was probably a real high maintenance snob anyway and I needed to erase her completely from my mind. I couldnʼt be pining after some stupid human girl. That’s what got me in trouble in the first place.  Not that I would ever think that Selah was a stupid human, she wasn’t.  She was the most perfect soul I ever met, perfect for me anyway.  I was just so sick and worn out from this punishment.
    We started a slow-paced jog and headed toward Central Park.
    The park was filled with crowds of people. Some were jogging, some practicing Tai Chi on the grass, some were tourists pointing and smiling; and it was just the beginning of an icy cold February. That’s one of the things I loved so much about living in New York City; you can walk right out your front door and the world was laid out in front of you. So many different people. In a backwards way, it reminded me of heaven.
    It didn ʼt take me long to lose my train of thought and start thinking about those silver eyes again. Damn . “So, that girl from last night is Leaʼs old roommate?”
    Conner tilted his head towards me while he ran. “Yeah, the girl you gave your shirt to. That ʼs Grace.”
    I didn ʼt say anything else for a few minutes. Then, I couldnʼt help myself, “She got a boyfriend or anything?”
    He gave me a smirk, “Why?  Are you interested in becoming one?”
    “No. I was just wondering about her having one. Tucker seems to want to marry her. Is she interested in him?”
    “No,” he said.
    “No what?” I asked.
    “No, she doesn ʼt have a boyfriend,” he answered.
    “And...what about Tucker?” I pried.
    Conner laughed. “I don ʼt think he has a boyfriend either, but it would explain a lot if he did.”
    I laughed along with him. It would explain a lot . “Yeah, man. I bet heʼs got a crush on Alex.”
    “Hey, now,” he continued laughing. “Don ʼt knock it. Alex is hot!” We stopped jogging, because we were laughing so much. We parked ourselves on a bench and just watched the rest of the runners pass us by.
    “So, do you think she might like Tucker?” I had suddenly come down today with chronic verbal vomit of the mouth.
    “Is this your ass backwards way of asking about her? What the hell, are you twelve again?”
    I ran my hands through my hair, yanking hard at the ends.  “I can ʼt get her out of my mind, bro.”
    He watched me carefully. “Look, Shane, Grace is really great. She ʼs smart, nice, pretty...all that stuff and more. But I donʼt think you are her type. Besides, sheʼs got a lot of family problems sheʼs going through right now, so I doubt dating Tucker or anyone is on her mind at the moment.”
    Shoving me in the shoulder he asked, “Hey, how was that blonde last night? I was hoping that she and Lea were going to get into a cat fight and start ripping each other ʼs clothes off.” I guess I did a good job at making sure all my friends thought I was just a regular human jerk all this time