The Other Side of Envy: The Ghost Bird Series: #8 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone Read Free Book Online Page B

about it now. I needed space. I focused on Gabriel, and tried to think up ways to convince him that I should join the Academy.
    I breathed in the stronger scent of spring soap within the BMW. Try as I might, I wanted to be able to relax around Mr. Blackbourne and have a light conversation, but I couldn’t find the nerve or the right words to say.
    Mr. Blackbourne took an exit and the signs all read North Charleston. The streets had potholes and faded white and yellow lines. We crossed over two sets of train tracks, past dilapidated homes with sunken in front porches and broken fences. He turned into a trailer park, driving slowly through the neighborhood.
    The trailer park rested alongside another set of tracks running counter to the main road. I wondered if it was still active. Could people live so close to trains like that? Maybe it wasn’t active any more.
    We pulled into a gravel parking space next to a trailer near the back of the park. The trailer was painted a faint yellow, with white trim. There was a dull gray shed built next to it. The yard was clean, compared to the neighbors’ to the left. Their yard was littered with broken tricycles, a dingy swing set and fast food containers. Comparatively, the trailer we were at wasn’t the newest in the neighborhood, but it appeared to be the cleanest and most well maintained.
    Mr. Blackbourne got out of the car, moving around quickly to open my door. He reached in to assist me. I stepped out, getting that nervous tremor through me as I gazed around. “Where are we?” I asked.
    “This is Mr. Coleman’s home.”
    Mr. Coleman. Gabriel lived here? It wasn’t quite what I was imagining. I remembered Victor’s house in downtown Charleston and how big it was, and I almost expected Gabriel to have a similar house.
    Mr. Blackbourne went to his trunk, and pulled out my own small book bag. “I got this from Silas’s car before I picked you up,” he said.
    He knew I wasn’t going to return with Silas before our conversation. I started to reach out for the book bag, but he carried it and ushered me forward.
    I walked, although slowly. I glanced around the neighborhood, feeling eyes on the two of us. I couldn’t see anyone for sure, but in a neighborhood this small, and with walls so thin, I thought they all could see and hear anything we said or did. My hands clenched into fists, keeping me steady.
    Mr. Blackbourne led the way up to a wood deck, opened up a screen door, and knocked on the yellow wood one behind it. As we waited, I stepped close to Mr. Blackbourne, my arm brushing his as I pushed my lip to my lower teeth. New territory. I needed someone familiar.
    When no one answered after a couple of minutes, Mr. Blackbourne knocked again. While it didn’t appear he was knocking that hard, it was hard enough that the deck shook at our feet.
    “Coming!” Gabriel’s voice rang out to us. A second later, there was the sound of several locks being undone. Gabriel materialized in the doorway. He wore a blue ribbed tank shirt and a pair of faded gray boxer shorts, no studs in his ears, just the three black rings. His hair was mussed and sticking up on one side. He blinked out at us with tired eyes, registering Mr. Blackbourne first without much surprise. When Gabriel’s eyes finally settled on me, his mouth popped open. “Fuck, what the hell, dude?” He backed off, disappearing into the house.
    My mouth formed an ‘o’ shape. Gabriel openly cursed in front of Mr. Blackbourne, which was something he usually curbed at school. Would he get into trouble?
    Mr. Blackbourne pushed the door open and entered the house. I followed behind him, not wanting to be alone on the porch.
    The living room had thin beige carpet. A worn couch in a busy, multi-colored pattern was jammed up against the far wall. There was an entertainment center pressed up against bare windows on the opposite side, and it was cluttered with video games, DVDs and a few game consoles.
    “Why didn’t you tell