The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride Read Free Book Online

“What’s that?”
    â€œJust a little something for Noelle.”
    I had a sudden urge to push Coop away from the door, to run up the stairs that were behind him and rush into Noelle’s bedroom. Instead, I held the bag forward, willing him to take it.
    â€œI dunno, Tess. My parents are being really cautious.” Coop glanced over his shoulder.
    â€œPlease, Coop.” Tears welled up in my eyes, and his image swam before me.
    â€œIt’s just hard to tell what’s going to upset her.”
    â€œOkay.” I lowered the bag. “I don’t want to upset her. I just need her to know that I never stopped thinking about her.”
    Coop looked back once more, quickly. “Trust me,” he whispered. “It’s not a good idea.”
    â€œOkay,” I said, placing one hand on the door so he couldn’t close it. “Maybe I could go up for just a second?”
    He drummed his fingers on the door. “Uh-uh, Tess.” He shook his head.
    â€œI just want to see her. In person.” I pushed against the door. He held it firmly in place. “Of all people, you have to understand that.”
    â€œTess,” he whispered. “The longer you wait, the better, okay? Things are not the same.”
    I looked from his eyes to the dark staircase that led to the second floor and removed my hand from the door. I wanted to ask him what he meant. To tell him that Noelle would always be Noelle and to give her a break. But he closed the door before I could say anything, and I was left standing alone, breathing in that thick floral scent, wondering what he’d meant by “not the same.”
    I walked slowly toward the driveway. My Jeep was parked next to a thick pine tree that had grown taller since Noelle’s disappearance. I stared at the dark needles, wondering how I would ever reconcile with my friend if everyone was going to stand in my way.
    Just before opening the driver’s-side door of the Jeep, I took a quick look at Noelle’s window. I flinched when my eyes found her staring out at me, a ghostly version of my old friend.
    Noelle’s pale face was framed by straight, midnight black hair. Her eyes matched that border, dark and lifeless. Her hand fluttered against the glass, a pale moth straining for something out of reach. The translucent skin of her palm pressed against the pane, and she leaned forward a bit.
    I smiled.
    She didn’t.
    And then there was a breeze, soft against my skin but solid against the bag hanging from my wrist, causing it to sway back and forth. I held the gift in the air and suddenly, after all this time, allowed myself to believe that she was home.
    I leaned down and pulled the heavy bottom branches of the pine tree from the ground, then placed the bag into the cool, damp shadow underneath.
    Turning back to Noelle, I saw only the flutter of a white curtain.
    In the Jeep, I sat wondering what had broken our brief connection. A sound, perhaps, that reminded her of her captor. Or maybe Coop had knocked on her door to tell her I had stopped by.
    Seeing her stare out of that window without a smile on her face made me wonder again if all the news reports could be true. If she’d really had the freedom to roam around the neighborhood she’d shared with Charlie Croft. If she’d actually been friends with the girl and the guy whom people had seen her hanging out with. But most important, I wondered what, exactly, Charlie Croft had done to keep her quiet. And why she hadn’t made that phone call to Coop much sooner. At that thought, my hands started shaking so much it took three attempts to insert the key into the ignition.
    As I drove away, I told myself that none of that mattered. Noelle was alive. Everything else would fall into place. It had to.

Friday,
    October 2
    5
Like an Accident
    I was never one of those girls with a body-image issue. You know, the type who, after reading somewhere that celery sticks have