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

yet.
    “Mav, I had such a bad nightmare. I’m so glad it wasn’t real,” I mumble into his neck. I place feather light kisses on the lower side of his neck, marking a trail up to his warm and welcoming lips. He kisses me with no hesitation. His hand travels underneath my shirt in no time. Someone seems impatient. I smile into the kiss, but something about it just isn’t right. His kissing technique has changed, more relaxed than last night. It still feels good to kiss him though.
    His wandering hand moves out from underneath my shirt to cup my cheek. His thumb runs through a stray tear, and he breaks the kiss.
    “Why are you crying, Rosenip?”
    My eyes shoot open, and I move away from him, falling off the couch and onto the hard floor. I wince. That’s not Maverick.
    Fingers snap, and the lights in the room flare to life. Dante sits up. “Are you okay, Avvi? What’s wrong?”
    I pull my knees up and hide my face against them. If I don’t see it, then it means it’s not real and I’m just still having an incredibly long dream. Nevertheless, reality tries to regain her grip on me. No, this can’t be happening. It was supposed to all be a nightmare. Maverick was the one I just kissed with all of my soul, not Dante.
    “What the fuck? No, this isn’t real,” Dante stammers.
    What? He feels the same way? I lift my head up only to find someone standing at the end of the couch closest to Dante. I have to blink twice. I’m not entirely sure who, or what I’m seeing.
    “Hello, brother. It’s been a while.”
    “Minos.”
    To be continued  . . . 
     

Excerpts from Heather Dowell’s: The Newcomer
     
    Snow Angels
     
     
    Graduating early means more free time, and Elle takes full advantage of it. “Jeff,” Elle says flirtatiously. “Take us outside?”
    He crosses his burly, mahogany arms and peers down. He towers over both of us by at least a foot and a half. One step closer and I’ll be able to stare up his nose. People outside of this place might fear him, but he’s a regular Boo Radley or John Coffee: big or scary on the outside, but soft on the inside. He wouldn’t hurt a fly unless he thought it was carrying the West Nile Virus. Of course, flies don’t—as far as I know—but mosquitoes do.
    A few years ago, everyone was on high alert. He refused to go outside that summer without a can of insect repellant—that he sprayed us all down with—and a fly swatter.
    “You know the rules: everyone goes or no one goes.”
    “Oh, Zack,” Elle sings.
    I look over my shoulders to see the eighth world wonder of this place—Zack—step out of hiding and into the hallway. “Yeah?”
    Elle places her hands on her hips. “Want to go outside?”
    He points at his room with his thumb. Deadpan, he says, “Sorry, I’m busy practicing my fire breathing.”
    She crosses one arm and counts to three with her free hand.
    Zack takes a deep breath, a sure fire sign he’ll cave under pressure. “Do you want to go outside, Emma?”
    I nod. “Mhmm.”
    “Looks as if we’re going outside, big guy.”
    Jeff scowls at him. It’s no secret he hates the cold. The keys hanging from Jeff’s belt loop jingle as he walks to Zack’s room.
    “Well, don’t just stand there,” Elle says to Zack. “Go get your coat.”
    He steps back into his room. Jeff makes his way in. Elle and I pass them on the way to our room before taking a seat on the edge of my bed.
    It’ll be nice to go outside again. Ever since the other day at lunch, Elle and Crystal have been at each other’s throats. Crystal does what she can to push Elle’s buttons, e.g., refusing to go outside when we all have to agree, which just so happens to be every day when the younger ones are in school.
    Elle should know better than to get on anyone’s bad side. Others always pay the price. Still, I love her all the same.
    I lie back on my bed and stare at the small, black pits in the cardboard tiles that cover the ceiling. No crown molding in this place. I