Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry Read Free Book Online

and into the hallway. I was relieved to see Ella’s bedroom door closed; I just hoped she was in there alone. Dad was gone from the living room, so he must have made his way to his own room at some point during the night.
    When I reached the beach, instead of sitting behind the mound of sand, I perched on top of it, pulling my knees up to my chest and staring out at the horizon. It occurred to me that I’d seen more sunrises than sunsets over the last few months. I bet that wasn’t common for most seventeen-year-olds.
    Until now I’d assumed that a sunrise was a sunrise, and they’d look the same no matter where you were. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The sunrises at home were beautiful, but they were nothing compared to watching that giant ball of fire rise over the shining waters of Lake Ontario. The sky turned from a peachy-orange to a pale pink before morphing into shades of purple and red.
    It was incredible. And it made me kind of sad that I had no one to share it with.
    Shrugging off the feeling, I kept my eyes trained on the sky so I wouldn’t miss a second of the changing colours. I was vaguely aware of a car door closing nearby, but I figured someone was heading to work early.
    The sound of heavy footfalls made me jump up and whirl around. A young guy was walking up the path between my house and the house to the right. He had his head down, but from what I could see of his face I guessed he was in his early twenties. I wondered if he was the one who’d left late last night, and if he was just getting back now, all these hours later.
    As if sensing me there, he glanced up. When our eyes met, he froze on the path. His reaction was almost comical, like something from a cartoon. I imagined a screeching brake sound effect.
    We stood and stared at each other. His dark hair was just a bit too long, falling over his forehead and the tops of his ears. A hint of a five o’clock shadow darkened his tanned face, and his blue-green eyes shone in the soft morning light.
    His expression was unreadable as he tilted his head slightly to the side, still examining me. Slowly his expression changed, turning into something akin to interest. Curiosity maybe? I wasn’t sure, but it was kind of unsettling. I felt like I should say something, even just call out a hello, but I was frozen under his scrutiny.
    I was also suddenly very aware of the fact I was wearing pajamas—a matching tank top and shorts covered in colourful owls. I hadn’t expected to see anyone before six in the morning.
    Finally he lifted a hand in a small wave, and unlike last night, I automatically waved back. A small smile touched his lips as he dropped his hand, and I realized my initial guess had been wrong—he was more likely around my age than in his twenties. He gave me a little nod before bowing his head again and continuing into his house.
    I watched the door for a few minutes, wondering if he would come back out. When he didn’t, I sat back down on the sand hill.
    Heaven help him when Ella got a look at him. Tall, dark, and handsome seemed to be her type—or one of them anyway.
    I snuck one more glance over my shoulder in the direction of his house. I pictured his face, and that look of curious interest as he’d studied me. Had my expression mirrored his?
    The sky was almost completely light now, and seagulls were starting to circle over the water in search of breakfast. I yawned and stretched, feeling oddly tired considering I’d only been up for about seven hours. Maybe my lack of sleep was finally catching up to me.
    Back in my room, I pulled the curtains, even though I knew they wouldn’t do much to keep the sunlight out. It didn’t really matter anyway—whether the room was pitch dark or flooded with light, when my body was ready to sleep, I could sleep through just about anything.
    I pulled back the covers and crawled into bed. There was a ceiling fan above me, and a nice breeze coming in the open window. I watched the curtains as