The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine Read Free Book Online Page A

history. My remember-the-time friend. Brother from another mother. When I was drop-kicked to the curb last spring, my brother, the one who said he’d have my back, disappeared from my life. It was only about a month ago that he tried to make contact. He didn’t even have the decency to apologize.
    “No one called me all summer.”
    “Grayson, what’s that, three months? Stop acting like a wounded bitch.”
    “When I got in trouble, you scattered,” I said.
    “That’s not entirely true,” Luke began as if he were leading a Socratic seminar about the topic of my expulsion. “You agreed it was better if we all lie low for a while. And as for the summer, no one got together. Don’t you get it? Seeing you get caught was too close for comfort. But we’ve regrouped.Operation Amsterdam is on again. Andy, Dev, and Logan are completely on board. This, my friend, is your wake-up call.”
    “My wake-up call? Why do you think I’d want anything to do with that anymore?”
    “Stopped by Spiro’s today. He said I just missed you. You were with a preeeeeetty girl,” he said, mimicking Spiro’s accent.
    “I’m not allowed to get a cup of coffee?”
    “There are lots of places for coffee. Just thought you might be ready to start up again.”
    “I’m not,” I said, wondering when Spiro had become a gossip hound. Time to find a new coffee joint.
    “Don’t be stupid, Grayson. We need you .”
    “That’s too bad, ’cause Ima-out, my friendah.”
    “Barrett, come on,” he said.
    I hated when he patronized me. “Luke, you really have no clue. There are worse things than getting expelled.”
    All those months of no contact made me realize how lucky we were to not get caught. Selling term papers got me a slap on the wrist, but the Operation Amsterdam stuff? I couldn’t even go there. Luke was silent, but I could practically hear his wheels spinning, charging up his counterargument.
    “Grayson, I know you. Yeah, you got a raw deal, but you’ll spin-doctor it up and turn it to your advantage. So, nopressure. We’re here when you’re ready. Just think about it. Maybe while you’re in Welding,” he answered.
    “Bite me,” I said.
    “We’ll be in touch,” he said, hanging up.
    I jumped off the couch, grabbed my dish and soda can, and hurled them into the sink. Coke spilled across the white marble countertop, glugging out of the can like a gushing artery. I watched, transfixed; Tiff would have a cow. My mess. Again. I raked my hands into my hair, tugging at my roots and yowling the mother of all curse words up toward the ceiling.
    The drums. An hour on the drums would make me feel better. Luke Dobson could kiss my bottom-feeding, public-education ass. Getting away from St. Gabe’s was the best thing that ever happened to me. A detour. That’s all. Luke, Andy, Dev, and Logan could do whatever they wanted with Operation Amsterdam. I was done.
    I stormed downstairs to the haven I’d created for myself over the summer. The white, hot fist of anger in my chest finally began to unfurl. I’d blast some punk, pound the drums like an animal until my muscles ached. Exculpation through sweat and music.
    I’d done my time, hadn’t I? The course of my life had changed because I wouldn’t rat out others like me. There was something noble in that, right?
    Ah, and there he was: Grayson, the spin doctor.
    What would Wren think if she saw me now? This unhinged?Would she back away like she did at the park? How strange but sexy it felt arguing with her. It was the first honest interaction I’d had with a girl in . . . well, years. And it felt good. Just listening to her. The rise and fall of her voice as she spoke my name after I asked her if she regretted saving me.
    God, Grayson, no, I’m not thinking that at all , she’d said.
    The way we met, at this point in my life, had to mean something.
    I needed to see her again.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
    HarperCollins