The Broken Curse by Taylor Lavati Read Free Book Online Page B

yet. I have to know how the war will end before I drag you down there. Maybe you can just stay behind," I offer, shrugging.
    "Do I get hurt?" she asks me.
    "Worse," I answer, but don't let her linger longer.  
    "Ryder!" she yells as I jump off her bed and run to my side of the room. I quickly rummage through the floor of the small closet and rip off my pajamas. "Listen to me!" She grabs me and spins me around, her strength actually startling me.
    "I'm not risking your life. I won't do it." I shake my head and rip my arm from her grasp. I throw on my shorts and t-shirt and lace up my sneakers as she refuses to budge.
    "I've respected your choices. Why can't you respect mine?"
    "I do respect you. You're so brave and strong. But that doesn't mean I'll let you die."
    "Your visions change all the time."
    "I know, but—"
    "Just don't make any decisions. I want to come. I want to risk my life for this cause. Give me that choice." Her eyes are so strong, and they aren't filled with anger. She's so pretty, inside and out. I can't imagine seeing her like I did in my dream.
    I dart out of the door and don't stop until my brain shuts down and leaves me alone.

    I run to my favorite place. I stop where there's a little scenic overlook right off the main highway. It's about a seven-mile run from the school gates, but the pain is well worth it. I try to come here at least once a week to clear my head and decompress. I only ever cry here because nobody stops and bothers me. Nobody asks me questions or probes into my mind.  
    The noise from the constantly passing cars drowns out my thoughts, and I love the fact that I can't really think, while thinking at the same time. I always leave at dusk and feel a hundred times better. This is the second time I've been here this week, but I think I need it now more than ever.
    The green bench overlooks a valley between two large mountains. The bench is so high that everything in front of it is visible, like a picturesque hideaway, even though it's right next to a busy highway.
    Nestled on the left mountain is the school. You can just barely make out the gates and tall buildings through the evergreen trees. The other mountain is completely bare. It doesn't look like there's much civilization living on it, if any.  
    One day, I'll go to that mountain and check it out. I'll run through the hills and explore it all. But I just don't have the time now.  
    The valley between the two mountains is full of green life. There are trees and a small, bubbly stream between two smaller hills. But it's wilderness—a rare, uninhabited gem. A group of deer usually wander by the stream. Birds are constantly fluttering up the mountain and down through the trees. There's a bald eagle that watches from where I sit. Sometimes we talk. Sometimes we don't.  
    "Mind if I sit?" Ollie asks me, coming out of nowhere. I jump a little at the sound of a human voice. Nobody ever talks here. People only stop off to look or go to the bathroom behind the large evergreen tree.
    "Sure," I say, smiling at up at him as I regain my zen mood. He sits right beside me on the bench, our thighs touching. A jolt of energy shoots from our slight touch up to my heart. I suck in a heavy breath and slowly let it out through my nose.
    "How are you? I haven't seen you since your birthday."
    "As good as I could be," I answer vaguely. I shrug my shoulders, and he opens his arms for me to enter.
    "Come here," he says, smiling down at me. I lean over, scooting across the wood, and rest my head on his shoulder as his arm wraps me up and pulls me close. I'm close to sitting on his lap, but I hold back. I don't want to get too close right now. Our love curse is the last thing I need in my overworked brain.
    "Professor Onassis wants to create an army and go to the Underworld," I tell him, staring blankly at the green mountains. I don't really know why I tell him, other than the fact that I know this time he'll definitely want to come with me. There's no way