Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) by Shannon A. Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

was beautiful, definitely romantic . I wasn’t sure how to convince Robb or Crystal that Zac would never be more than a friend. They didn’t take no for an answer, and it was the only answer I had.
    From across the table, Robb bumped into his girlfriend’s arm. “Want t o order dessert?” he asked Linda.
    Her lips thinned. She hadn’t touched her salad. “I thought we were seeing a movie,” she said.
    “We can later,” Robb sai d, but he didn’t check his watch. Both Crystal and Linda took a long time to get ready, and the food did, too. The movie had started an hour ago.
    “We could watch one at my place,” Zac suggested.
    “Dad has to get up early,” Linda excused her half-brother as if he were a child. “We’ll go to a later show.”
    “Maybe you should ask everyone else how they feel,” Zac said, and I flinched at his hardened voice. “What do you want to do, Jess?” he asked, but all I could concentrate on were his black eyes, consuming the light around us.
    Crystal pushed her chair backwards. “I’m going to the restroom,” she announced, standing on platform sandals t oo tall for her. “Come on, Jess.” She wobbled away as I stood up.
    We had swerved through two rooms before we reached the restroom. She leaned her body against the door and pushed past me. I followed her and locked the door behind us.
    Habitually, Crystal pulled a pen from her purse and threaded it through her fingers. “What is going on with everyone tonight? ” Her lip ring twinkled as she ranted. “Linda and Zac keep fighting, Robb isn’t paying attention, and you’re barely talking. Not to mention that I’m the fifth wheel − the fifth − not the third.”
    “You’re not the fifth wheel,” I said, but Crystal cocked her hip.
    “Zac’s into you,” she said. “Like really into you.”
    “Wasn’t that your plan?”
    Her eyes darted to the ground. “I don’t know.”
    I couldn’t be lieve what I was seeing. Crystal Hutchins was insecure.
    “You like him,” I accused .
    Her face lifted up, her mouth open. “Who?”
    “Zac.”
    Her cheeks burned, but she didn’t deny it.
    I sighed and fiddled with the tips of my curls. “It’s fine, Crystal. Really,” I said, finally understanding why she was pushy. She liked Zac, and she wanted him around. If he came around me, she would get to see him, but it was starting to bother her. It was written all over her ink-covered palm.
    I took her pen away and placed it in her purse. “I don’t like him, Crystal.”
    “Not at all?” she squeaked.
    I held back the truth. I wasn’t sure what I thought about him, but I didn’t want to say I hated him. Zac seemed nice, but he wasn’t my type.
    “Go for it,” I encouraged, trying to block my thoughts out.
    “I can’t,” she said. “It’d be too awkward after prom.”
    My dinner churned against my stomach. “What about prom?”
    C rystal’s glitter mascara caught the light. Purple spots blocked my vision.
    “You guys danced,” she said. “And he kissed you—”
    “What?” My voice was high-pitched as it echoed off the mirrored walls. I couldn’t remember.
    Crystal’s shoulders rose. “Are you feeling okay, Jess?” she asked, gesturing to a spiraling couch in the middle of the room. Someone knocked on the door, and Crystal shouted back, “Someone’s sick in here.”
    I sat down on the couch before I fell down. My brain felt like it was pushing through my forehead. I gripped the rough fabric beneath me and released a deep breath.
    Crystal scurried to my side. “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t feel well,” I admitted, rubbing my temples and searching for any memory of prom, but nothing surfaced. “I must be coming down with something.”
    “I’ll have Robb drive you home. ” She stood up, but I pulled her down.
    “In a minute,” I said.
    Crystal scooted an inch away. “You’re kind of freaking me out, Jess.”
    “I ’m sorry,” I muttered.
    H er elbows rested on her knees, her head in her