See by Jamie Magee Read Free Book Online Page B

have a long drive.”
    I felt my stomach tie itself in knots; I told Bianca I wanted a low profile, and what does she do? Let her parents near my mom.
    Britain looked down at me and shook his head slightly. He knew I was mad at Bianca. He looked at my sister and said, “I feel like I’m in the dark…where’s our long drive to?”
    I looked at Kara and pleaded with my eyes for her to be discreet. I didn’t want anyone to know where I was going – or for how long.
    “ School is over…so is Charlie’s time in the city,” Kara said, looking at Britain. “Maybe once she’s feeling better and mom has some to time to get over the other night, I can get her phone back…she’ll call you if she wants to.”
    Britain looked down at me. “You don’t have a phone anymore? Since when?”
    “ Sometime Friday,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
    “ You haven’t listened to music since Friday?” he asked, surprised.
    I shook my head no.
    “ No wonder you’re so tense,” he said in a low tone. He then smiled at Kara and said, “I understand…her health is very important to me, too.”
    Kara reached for my hand. “She’s getting better every second…it’s time to go home, Charlie.”
    I took her hand. Kara looked over at Britain once more, then pulled me to walk away. I looked over my shoulder at him. “I’ll find you,” he whispered.
    Hearing his words, Kara gripped my hand and pulled me to walk faster.

 
    Chapter 3
    Almost everyone had cleared out of the school; only a few people were posing for pictures now. I saw my mom, Bianca, and Bianca’s parents by the door.
    As Kara and I walked closer, I tried to judge my mother’s composure. She wasn’t tense at all; in fact she looked very relaxed. She was smiling and nodding along with something Bianca’s father was saying. She even smiled at me as I walked up.
    “ There she is,“ Bianca’s dad said.
    This man towered over me. I was sure I had never even looked him in the eye. He just has a power that dominates off him. It was intimidating to be in his presence, to say the least. I had no idea how my mom mustered the courage to argue with him that night at the ER.
    “ I wanted to get a picture of you and Bianca. She said you had left, but then luckily we found your mother waiting on you,” Mr. Nathenson said to me.
    Bianca stepped forward and hooked her arm through mine. Kara stood by Bianca’s mom so she could take a picture, too.
    “ Charlie, take your hood off,” Kara said to me.
    “ No,” Bianca’s mother complained. “I love the hood; it wouldn’t be Charlie without it.”
    I smiled through gritted teeth – I wanted to get away from them – to get my mom away from them. I was halfway hoping Britain would chose to follow us out – this desire to run was never a problem when he was close; that’s odd, considering he seems to bring that emotion out of everyone he’s around.
    “ Sorry,” Bianca whispered behind her smile.
    I rolled my eyes, knowing she wasn’t.
    “ Perfect,” Mr. Nathenson said. “Well, I’m sure all of you are eager to get on your way. I’m disappointed that we won’t see Charlie this summer.”
    I felt my stomach drop. I could only hope my mother hadn’t told them where I was going. As I looked back and forth between my mother and Mr. Nathenson, my heart started to race and my ears burned.
    My mother nodded and looked at me as if to tell me to say my goodbyes. I looked at Bianca.
    “ I’ll see you around,” I mumbled.
    She smiled innocently. “In no time.”
    The sick feeling in my stomach was so powerful, I had to tell myself to breath. I felt like the world was closing in around me – that my worst fears were about to come true. I just didn’t know what they were.
    “ I’ll let you how that case works out,” Mr. Nathenson said to us as we walked away.
    My mom looked back and smiled, then reached her arm around my shoulders.
    “ What case?” I asked once we were far enough away not to be heard.
    “