Spearwood Academy Volume Five by A.S. Oren Read Free Book Online

me.
    I go to the kitchen. Dante seems to know what he’s doing, but I don’t want to risk the cookies tasting bitter because he used too much baking powder. I cross in front of him to prepare the dry ingredients. He gives me a light pat on the butt as he takes a whisk from the tool crock. I give him a half-hearted glare. He winks at me in return before whisking the wet ingredients together with the finesse of a master baker. I sometimes wonder what planet he fell from. I’ve never met someone as skilled as Maverick and Paden at a young age, even the other guys aren’t as skilled. Was he like a backup for if Maverick and Paden weren’t available? He already knows how to do a full shift and use the Voice.
    I add in the chocolate chips as he pours the wet batter in my bowl. I stir it together with my spatula. I’ve never been one for mixers; they take the fun out of baking. Soon, the cookie dough forms. Now, we just need to make the dough balls and stick them in the oven.
    The child side of me still gets pleasure from forming the balls with my hands instead of using a spoon. A small smile pulls at the corner of my lips before his arms go around my waist and he leans over my shoulder. He makes me feel so small. I close my eyes. If I try hard enough I can pretend he’s Maverick.
    I clear my throat when the though edges its way into my mind. I pull away from Dante. It’s wrong of me to use him like that. It’s not fair to him at all, and, in the end, it just hurts me more.
    “I’m sorry, Rosenip. I’m just so used to doing this with you. I wasn’t even thinking. I know you’re going through something right now, which I don’t really understand. I didn’t even have a clue you were seeing the Pricks’ brother until that day, let alone that you were in love with him.” He whispers in my ear before placing a kiss at the back of my head.
    My heart drops a bit into my stomach. Guilt runs through me like a mob of wild horses. I wipe off my fingers and face him, leaning my back against the counter.
    I shake my head. “I’m sorry too. I know none of this is fair to you. I don’t know if it will ever be again, but I hope that soon you will understand why I’m like this. Hopefully, you won’t be this hurt and confused for much longer.”
    “As long as I can stand by your side, as your guard, I can wait for however long it takes.
    Horace and Amr push the couches together, so they both face the biggest wall in the room. The classic clocks’ ticking sounds at the beginning of the movie, just as the cookies finish cooling. My hearts hurts at the nostalgic ticks of the clocks. Please, let me get through this without losing my grip on myself again.

The Strange Twin
     

    A click awakens my brain, as a burst of cold air wafts over me. Where am I? Darkness prevails over the room, and I can tell I’m not in my bed. A couch? A hard body rests bedside me, a hand thrown onto my lower body. Could I be in the Cabin again? Was everything: Maverick dying, the survival challenge, and Jericho just some horrible, messed up dream?
    I can’t believe it. That dream felt so real and long. Butto know it was just a nightmare lifts so much weight off my heart. I can breathe again .
    I snuggle deeper into his chest. The hand on my hip tightens its hold, pulling me closer to his body and further away from the edge of the cushions. I reach out and grip his shirt; warm tears have stained it a little bit.
    He’ll probably think I’m just being an over dramatic girl . . . freaking out over a dream so much. I’ll never be able to describe to him how real it felt. I swear his body convulsed in my arms as he took his last breath. Nothing in a dream has ever brought me more pain than in that moment.
    The darkened curtains have stopped the morning sun from invading the Cabin. I scoot my body further up the couch, so I can kiss him on the neck. I’ve always wanted to wake him up like this. We don’t need to be back at Spearwood just