Shackled by Tom Leveen Read Free Book Online

with kelly green, were so sincere I felt my resolve slipping.
    I couldn’t stomach looking at him. Stared out my window again instead.
    â€œThat’s when it all started,” I said quietly, hoping maybe hecouldn’t hear me and would give up listening. “When Tara got taken, everything went to hell. I got scared. Thought someone would take me, too. Or Jeffrey. I couldn’t even look at him anymore. I just stayed inside. I couldn’t go to school. I faked sick so much my mom thought I really had something bad, like cancer or something. And Mom and Dad didn’t understand at all, I mean, they tried to, but I couldn’t make them see . . .”
    I stopped. The car behind us honked, and David hit the gas to carry us through the green light. He didn’t say anything. Neither did I. I’d already puked out more secrets than I ever wanted to, anyway.
    I zoned out, not paying attention to where we were going. When we stopped, I lifted my head and glanced around.
    â€œIs this cool?” David asked. He’d stopped the truck, but hadn’t shut off the engine yet.
    We’d ended up at this little park called Arcadia. A couple of fields and a decent-size playground, plus lots of concrete picnic tables and grills.
    â€œUm . . . sure,” I said. I had no idea what we were doing here.
    David shut off the engine and climbed out, and I followed. Without a word, he led us toward the empty playground. I would’ve thought it would be crowded since the schools were closed.
    â€œYou’re on break from school, right?” I asked.
    â€œYeah,” David said. “But I’ve only got about half a schedule next semester, and a terminal case of senioritis.”
    â€œSo, what, you ditch a lot?”
    â€œActually, no, not excessively. I’m kind of a goody-goody. You?”
    Oops. Hadn’t meant to go quite that far. “I’m taking classes online. Ditching doesn’t have quite the allure.”
    David looked like he wanted to ask more, but he didn’t say anything else about it.
    Instead he marched onto the sand and said, “Swings?”
    I stayed on the sidewalk. “I don’t think so.”
    â€œWhatever,” he said. “You’re missing out.”
    David slipped himself into one of the rubber seats and launched backward with both feet. In just a moment he was arcing high into the air, back and forth.
    He looked ridiculous. I wanted to tell him so. Except then when I did, I also laughed. I hardly recognized the sound.
    â€œYes, I do look ridiculous,” David said. “But at least I’m having fun. Lookit, there’s five more here. You wouldn’t even have to sit next to me or anything.”
    He didn’t say it bitterly. In fact, I couldn’t quite figure out how he meant it. Sarcastic? Flirty? Just a statement of fact?
    So just to show him I couldn’t be manipulated, I climbed into the swing beside his and pushed off. Pretty soon we were in sync, up and down, back and forth, not speaking. For no good reason I remembered suddenly in grade school, when Tara and I got into sync like this, we shouted, “You’re in my bathtub!” I don’t know why. It was just one of those things kids said, I guess. We’d heard other kids say it before. It always cracked us up.
    Maybe because of the way my stomach kept squishing up into my ribs, then down past my belly button, I didn’t feel quite as hopeless as I had at the police station. Maybe the g-forces were relaxing my guts or something.
    â€œI’m gonna jump,” David announced.
    â€œDon’t!” I said.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou’ll crack your skull open and your brains will fall out and I am not cleaning it up.” This was a phrase my mom always used to say to me and Jeffrey. For pretty much any occasion. Jumping on the couch, climbing ladders, whatever.
    â€œNah. I’m gonna do