Silverlighters by Ellem May Read Free Book Online Page A

something.”
    “What do you mean?” I kept my voice low to match Beck’s.
    Beck shrugged. “I don’t know. He acts like he’s their keeper. Makes you wonder what they did. They keep to themselves, but Madison gets a little crazy sometimes. He’s the only one who can control her.”
    “They’re not even human,” Melissa said. “They’re brain-dead zombies.”
    I raised my brows, surprised at her vehemence.
    Beck laughed. “Melissa’s just annoyed. She’s team Andrew, but he rejected her.”
    “Andrew?” I took a bite of my apple, not wanting to seem too interested.
    “The blond one,” Beck said.
    “I got over that ages ago,” Melissa snapped, her eyes hard. “You know I’m with Mick now.”
    Melissa leaned closer to me and hissed, “They’re on drugs, you know.”
    I nearly choked on my apple.
    “I’m serious,” Melissa hissed. “They’re junkies.”
    “You’re not going on about that still?” Beck sounded exasperated.
    “I know what I saw,” Melissa said.
    “But – if they’re taking drugs, wouldn’t it make them hyper or something?” Beck said. “Not – not zombies.”
    Melissa gave Beck a withering look. “I’m not talking about those sorts of drugs. They’re valium zombies.”
    I couldn’t help but think Melissa would benefit from a healthy dose of valium herself. But I had to admit – she had a point. Madison was the only one I’d seen display any real sort of emotion at all.
    Melissa turned hard eyes on me. “I wouldn’t waste your breath,” she warned.
    “God – you’re such a bitch,” Chris said at the same time Beck said, “Why? Is it that impossible to believe that one of them could like her and not you? I mean – look at her. She’s gorgeous. You’re not the only pretty girl in the world, you know.”
    Mortified, I stared at the fries on the table. I wasn’t used to socializing with so many people at once, or the dynamics that went with it.
    And I especially wasn’t used to people jumping to my defense, or saying I was pretty. It completely threw me.
    “That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Melissa said. Then a moment later, she purred, “You said I’m pretty.”
    I looked up in time to see Melissa fluff up her hair and grin disarmingly.
    “Yep,” Beck picked up a fry and launched it at her, “but Andrew’s prettier.”
    “He is, isn’t he?” Melissa sighed.
    “Guys can’t be pretty,” Chris said.
    “Of course they can,” Melissa said. “I mean – look at those eyes. Have you ever seen eyes like that before? And don’t even start me on his lashes.”
    “Don’t let Mick hear you say that,” Beck chuckled.
    That was when I felt the strange prickling sensation in the middle of my forehead, just between my eyebrows. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation. I had felt it before.
    It was kind of like a light electric current.
    It only seemed to happen when I was feeling especially restless or anxious.
    I rarely felt it during the day.
    Sometimes, the feeling was strong. So strong it woke me at night.
    The last time I’d felt it was the night of the explosion. I’d been having a terrible nightmare.
    I was in the apartment with my father, and we were surrounded by bright orange flames. Our feet had stuck to the floor, and our bodies were slowly melting, as though we were made out of wax.
    Occasionally the prickling was accompanied by a smell – the faint scent of ozone, like when it’s just about to rain.
    It made me feel safe. Protected.
    At that moment the smell was particularly strong.
    Calm swept through me, even though I hadn’t been feeling tense or anxious, just embarrassed.
    I breathed in deeply as the smell grew stronger.
    The prickling intensified.
    I turned, and that was when I saw Him .
    Some people just catch your eye. There’s no defining why. It just is.
    I’m not talking about something as dramatic as love at first sight. Or lust.
    It’s like they have an aura about them that makes them stand out. One that somehow