Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) by Breeana Puttroff Read Free Book Online Page B

and it turns out you’re off somewhere with them – who knows if this hospital thing is even true. And then I hear from Adam that the other night Zander told you he loves you, and you haven’t even said anything back!”
    Quinn’s eyes were wide at the end of Abigail’s speech. She had never really put all of that together before – what all of this must look like to Zander and the rest of her friends. The twisting feeling in her stomach grew decidedly sick, and hot tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. How had her life gotten so complicated?
    “I … I don’t know, Abbie. It’s not all something I can explain.”
    “Well, you’d better figure it out, Quinn. Because you’re about to lose everything.” And with that, Abigail turned around and walked away, leaving her standing alone in the almost-empty cafeteria.
    She felt like the room was spinning around her; her hands shook, and ripples of nausea tore through her stomach. Her first impulse was to run away, drive off, get some fresh air and some space, but the small rational part that was left knew it would only make things worse with school. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she whirled around.
    “Hey, are you okay?” William’s voice was soft, calming. She wondered how much of the exchange he’d just heard.
    She blinked several times, trying to keep the traitorous tears from falling. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
    He raised one eyebrow.
    “Okay, I don’t know. Not really.”
    “We don’t have to go up there tonight. You could stay here instead and work things out with your friends.”
    She swallowed hard. He’d heard everything. “No,” she shook her head. “I want to go to Grand Junction this afternoon.” And she did. She wanted to leave and go there right now, actually. Spending time with William and Thomas was about the only thing in her world that made any sense to her right now. “How about we leave now?”
    He chuckled, though behind his glasses, his eyes showed concern, understanding. “That won’t solve anything, and you know it. Besides, you can’t afford to miss any more classes right now. Make it through the day, and we’ll leave right after school, okay?”
    She nodded. His hand twitched at his side, almost as if he were resisting reaching out and touching her. A strange current filled the air between them, distracting her from the fight she’d just had with Abigail.
    A shrill ringing disrupted them then, the bell warning that the next class period would begin in one minute.
    “I’ll meet you out front after school,” he said.
    She watched him walk away, and then made a mad dash up the hallway to her class.
     
    *          *          *
     
    By the time her last class ended, she wasn’t so sure it had been worth it to stay for the rest of the day. She hadn’t been able to focus on anything. Zander and Abigail had both avoided her for the rest of the day, and she’d gotten an angry message back from her mother when she had texted to let her know where she was planning on going after school.
    Mad as she was about it though, her mother hadn’t refused permission for her to go. In the mood she was in, she would probably have gone to Grand Junction even against her mother’s wishes, but it still surprised her when her mother’s last message had held no argument, and ended only with a statement that she wouldn’t be waiting up for her to get home. Would you have, anyway? she wondered to herself as she snapped the phone shut.
    Not wanting to spend any more time in the building than she had to, she’d pulled everything she needed out of her locker before her final class and carried it all with her. As soon as the bell rang, she headed to William’s locker.
    “I take it you’re ready to go?” he said when he saw her.
    She nodded. “Please?”
     
    *          *          *
     
    “Are you feeling any better?” William asked when they were about twenty minutes outside of town.