Winter of Discontent (Four Seasons Book 1) by T.S. Harvey Read Free Book Online Page B

geek I’d met on my first day. He’d turned up as Neville Longbottom but had left as Jacob Black and I was falling hard.
     
    ‘A date? With a broken wrist? What are you gonna do if you need to fight him off?’ joked Aunt Suze when I told her what had happened. ‘I think I should chaperone you,’ she said, with a stern expression.
    ‘What! You’re kidding me?’ The panic in my voice was audible.
    ‘Of course I’m kidding, you fool. Jeez I’d have died of embarrassment if my mother had ever gone along on any of my dates.’
    I breathed a visible sigh of relief. Thank fuck. It had been a shaky enough start as it was. Aunt Suze was great, really easygoing and fun to be around, but as a chaperone? No thank you.
     
    Saturday came around quite quickly and Aunt Suze dropped me off at Kacey’s to save me having to take the bus though in all honesty it wouldn’t have bothered me. It was just over a week since the accident but I felt fine. The Doctors had said to expect to be off school for about three weeks to give my ribs chance to mend but I decided I would be OK to go back the following Monday. Convincing Aunt Suze was easier than I expected.
    ‘Well, you are the best person to make that decision. I’m sure you know if you’re well enough,’ she said, when I spoke to her about it.
    I was really pleased that went well. I was looking forward to seeing Erik tomorrow and although I was a little nervous about the backlash I’d undoubtedly get from Kacey, I figured I’d take the chance to talk to her about it today. Better here, in private, than at school where everyone would put their five cents in.
     
    Kacey looked much better today than she had last time I saw her. We’d exchanged texts during the week, and selfies, and joked about comparing ‘war wounds’.
    ‘Well, Trump, you don’t look nearly as bad as I thought you would.’ She grinned.
    I was really pleased to see her. I’d felt bad about not being able to bring her notes from school, although no one offered to do it for me. Fortunately I was quite a good student; I picked things up quickly and was sure I’d soon catch up.
    Kacey’s stepmother had gone away the previous day and wouldn’t be back until the following weekend. This probably accounted for why she looked so relaxed.
    ‘So come on, tell me what happened. How the Hell did you pull out into traffic and get away without breaking your neck?’
    I held back for a moment. The truth was I pulled into the traffic because I wasn’t concentrating. My mind had been on Erik. Dare I tell her that right now? My relationship with Kacey was every bit as fragile as my relationship with Erik. In the end, I figured I might as well go for it.
    ‘Well, you’d laugh really.’
    I didn’t sound confident, I know I didn’t. I took a deep breath.
    ‘I was behind the bus Erik Zauber was on. I saw him get on and through the back window I could see him standing toward the back. I had my mind on him and what I’d done with that stupid photo and I just pulled out. The doctor said I was lucky not to have been hurt more.’
    ‘For Christ’s sake! You risked your life worrying about that little shit? For fuck’s sake, where’s your self-respect …’ the vitriol just poured out of her like a tap.
    I listened, stunned, as she fired insult after insult at Erik. In the end, I just couldn’t take any more.
    ‘That’s enough. You have no idea what he’s really like. He’s really sweet, and funny, and kind. I hate that you are such a bitch to him. What on earth did he ever do to deserve that, to deserve such venom?’
    ‘He’s a freak, a pathetic freak. He’s vile. And don’t think I’m gonna apologize for my opinion because I won’t. And if you are gonna be his friend, then you’re not mine. You need to decide which side you’re on, mine or his.’
    Her spite repulsed me. I thought I’d made it quite clear to Kacey last time I saw her that I wasn’t gonna bow to her every whim like the others. I