Silver Moon Read Online Free Page B

around the corner and out of sight. Standing in place for a couple of minutes makes me look as dumb as I feel. He’s not coming back. There’s no point in me waiting for him. I’ll have to wait until I see him again.
    My own, personal hero, I think. Not that I need one, but there’s something about him that I find comforting.
    When I get home—my new home, anyway—Beth’s making dinner. She pokes her head around the corner as soon as I walk through the door.
    “It’s just me,” I say.
    “I wanted to be sure,” she calls from the kitchen. “How was school?”
    “It was…different.” I don’t want to bring up the Conway brothers, or how they confronted me. Like I need more problems in my life…
    I snatch a roll from the tray Beth pulls out of the oven. The bread is crispy and burns the tips of my fingers. I quickly take a bite, burning the roof of my mouth. The pain is fleeting—like I imagined it or something.
    Weird, I think.
    “So,” Beth begins, mixing some sort of food together in a big dish, “have you made new friends yet?”
    “Um, I met this guy in one of my classes. He seems pretty cool.” I take another bite of the roll; it doesn’t burn my hand or my mouth this time. Totally weird.
    “Oh, yeah? What’s his name?”
    “Blake.”
    “I bet he’s that Thomas boy. They’re a good clan.”
    “Clan? Um, whatever.” My head shakes in response to her odd choice of words. “I’m going upstairs to do homework.”
    Beth waves me off.
    Homework? Yeah, right. Since when do I do that? Even if I wanted to put a pencil to paper, I couldn’t. My mind is frenzied with thoughts of Benjamin and his brothers. I’ve met a few bullies in my day, but this is at the top of the list. They’re full of pure hatred for me, and I have no idea why. I’ve only been here for how long? A few days? Not long enough to irritate someone, let alone make them hate me. And what’s with their eyes burning black?
    The only thing I think about is what’s going to happen to me tomorrow and the day after that. I don’t want to deal with them every day. Just my luck, though, right? I get away from trouble and trouble finds me yet again.
    I wonder what Sean and Layla are doing this very second. Are they still grounded? Last time I checked, neither was allowed to pick up a phone or get online. I have no way of communicating with them.
    Some time passes before Beth calls me downstairs. She says dinner’s ready. I take my sweet time. My stomach argues with me, since the only food I’ve had all day is the roll in the kitchen.  
    Randy’s not home from work yet. Apparently, he works the graveyard shift most nights. Something having to do with him being a manager at the bank. I thought only the dead stayed up that late. So, it’s just Beth and I.
    “I heard from your mom today,” Beth says, taking a stab at her green beans.
    “Really?” There’s no emotion in my voice. At least, that’s what I hope it comes off as.
    “She asked about you.”
    I play with my mashed potatoes and finally ask, “Did she?” My voice is foreign, even to me. Since when do I care that Mom checked on me?
    “They’re worried about you, you know. You should give her a call when you get a chance, catch them up on what’s going on.”
    I shrug. “Maybe later.”
    Beth doesn’t say anything for the rest of the meal, which is completely awkward. Back home, dinner consisted of Mom picking up fast food on her way home from work, and eating in front of the TV. I suddenly feel sick at the thought of Charleston , and how I can’t go home anytime soon.
    I push aside my plate, having lost my appetite, and quickly thank Beth for dinner, heading upstairs to my room—my only place of solace. I attempt to pull out my math book and figure out some equations, but that doesn’t work out so well. My every thought is consumed by what will happen tomorrow at school when I see Benjamin again. My insides toss and turn while I try figuring things out.
    The