Student Bodies by Sean Cummings Read Free Book Online Page B

whether to buy a Coke or to pick up a bottle of cough syrup. He’d sneak up to me and place his index finger on his lips. He’d whisper that QuickPharm just got a new shipment of everything from chocolate bars to lip balm to hair brushes, and then he’d give me one of his special “free” samples that nobody else in the world was to know about. Of course whenever he went into super-secret shopper mode in front of Marcus, the object of my affection would roll his eyes and flush with embarrassment, but that’s how Wallace Guffman was: just plain old good.
    Just like Marcus.
    â€œI’d be lying if I said that I was,” I said quietly. I watched Marcus closely. His eyes met mine for a moment and I could have sworn that I could see the tiniest glimmer of fear in them as he tried to force a smile.
    My mother’s fingers dug into my shoulder again and she said, “I wish the circumstances were better, Wallace; we haven’t talked for a very long time.”
    â€œFor years,” he replied. “Which is kind of strange given that Julie and Marcus are best friends. I’d planned on having you two over for dinner when Amanda and I learned that these two kids were finally an item. Days like today remind a person about how important having friends can be.”
    â€œI imagine you’re right, Wallace,” my mother replied, her eyes fixed firmly on Marcus. “Thank you for shoveling out our driveway this morning, Marcus… I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier.”
    I threw my mother a dirty look because she was lying through her teeth. That just pissed me off no end and I bit my lip good and hard to stop myself from snapping at her.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” he said quietly. “Julie, I’ll text you later, OK?”
    I escaped from my mother’s claw-like grip and wrapped my arms around Marcus. I leaned in and whispered in his ear as I hugged him, “I’m going to find out who did this. I promise.”
    He hugged me back and said, “I know.”
    And with that, the Guffman family walked out of the tent and into the cold.
    â€œStrange that Marcus is an only child,” Mom said. “Amanda and Wallace had always talked about having a boy and a girl back when your father was still around.”
    â€œI’m an only child. Does that make us strange?”
    Mom ignored my snark and headed out of the tent. I quickly zipped up my winter coat and followed her.
    â€œDo you think this is about you?” she growled as we headed to the car. “That whoever killed that boy did it because they detected your magic? Well, let me tell you something, it was you who forgot to take the potion this morning, kiddo. There hasn’t been a magic related murder in this city since…”
    â€œSince Dad got killed?” I said, finishing her sentence. “I wonder what Dad would have done had he been the one to see Travis walk into traffic.”
    Mom stopped dead in her tracks. A gust of wind sent a spray of snow blowing across her legs and she clenched her jaw. It was clear that I’d crossed the line for the second time in two days; the only difference was that this time, I didn’t care.
    â€œYou want the truth about your father?” she snapped. “Alright then, here it is. He would have hunted down whoever did this, Julie. He would have disappeared for days at a time following clues and bringing the full weight of coven justice on anyone with information that would lead him to the killer. And when he learned the identity of the murderer, your father would have descended on their hiding place with a storm of vengeance. His place was to deal out retribution and he did so with cold-blooded skill. He would have found who did this and he would have killed them on the spot with a death curse. And that is to be your future, goddamn it! That’s what you’re going to do and that’s why you need to spare Marcus