Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,54

now. I think you and Michael are responsible, but you’re still… teenagers. Who fancy themselves in love. It’s not that far-fetched to follow that line of thinking to a logical if unpleasant conclusion.”

I barely contained an eye-roll that would have gotten me in serious trouble. “I can assure you that this had nothing to do with Michael. And I’m not—we don’t—really, Mom!”

She shrugged. “Okay, okay. Well, then, what was it? What made you pass out—or nearly?”

I squirmed a little in my seat. “I was picking up some nasty vibes from a girl who sits near me, and I think it was just too much.” That was true, and right now it was all I wanted to share.

“What kind of nasty vibes? Are we talking dangerous stuff or teenage girl petty stuff?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied slowly. “I think just mean girl type of stuff. You know, picking on other kids.”

She eyed me. “You’d tell me if it were something more?”

“If it were an emergency situation, and you could do something, I would definitely tell you. I promise.” That much was true. I knew my mother was imagining school shootings or girl gang warfare. What I had seen would really freak her out, and I couldn’t imagine anything she could do to prevent it.

“Okay,” she sighed. “But remember, Tas—no listening to people. No matter how tempting it might be—it’s not the right thing to do.”

I nodded, and we went inside, to the cool of the house. I was relieved to be safely home.

“Why don’t you lie down for a while and see if you feel better afterwards?” my mother suggested.

I hesitated. If Michael came by and I was asleep, I knew my mom would send him home. On the other hand, I was pretty exhausted by the afternoon.

“If I do go to sleep, you’ve got to promise to wake me up if Michael stops by. Okay? I really need to talk to him.”

My mom’s eyes flashed brief hurt. It wasn’t hard for her to guess that I wanted to talk to Michael about what I’d heard and seen this afternoon, and she was feeling left out. I gave her a reassuring smile. “I just want to make sure he knows I’m okay.”

“All right, I promise,” she said at last.

I opened my eyes and felt a moment of disorientation. My room was nearly dark, with just the faintest late afternoon light coming through the closed wooden shutters. I was lethargic with sleep, and with a sigh, I rolled over and eyed the clock.

Five twenty-three! I bolted upright on the bed, giving myself a momentary flashback to the afternoon’s dizziness. I shook it off. Now I was annoyed, either at Michael for not coming over to check on me or at my mother for breaking her promise to wake me.

Before I could work up too much of a mad, though, my door opened and I saw my mom’s inquisitive face.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!” she exclaimed. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, just fine,” I assured her. “Didn’t Michael come by?” I was risking getting a load of mom-sympathy if he hadn’t even called.

“Yes, he came by,” she began. And as I started to interrupt, she raised her hand between us. “And yes, I tried to wake you up. As a matter of fact, both Michael and I tried. But you were out like a light.”

I tried not to be disappointed. I couldn’t be mad at anyone, it turned out… except for Nell, who had such an evil mind that it apparently sapped all of my energy.

“But I knew you wanted to see him, and he was very worried about you, so I took pity on you both and invited him for dinner. He should be here any—” the doorbell rang, and she raised her eyebrows. “That would probably be him now.”

“I’ll get it!” I bounded off the bed.

“Hey! Slowly there, kiddo. Don’t forget you were an invalid this afternoon.”

I rolled my eyes and waved her off. “It was nothing. I’m fine.”

I dashed to the door and opened it. Michael was standing on the porch, looking off down the block. I had a moment to take him in before he turned to me, and for just a second, I felt weak at the knees again. He was simply gorgeous, and once again, I was amazed that it was me he had chosen.

When his eyes met mine, I could feel the worry he had been experiencing all afternoon. Without a word, he reached out and pulled