Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,8

be honest, Tasmyn, I’ll admit that I’d be more comfortable with you not getting involved with this boy. You might think it’ll all work out, but it’s going to be hard for you to be his friend without giving away your—what you can do.”

“I can do it. I’ve lived with this my whole life. I think I can handle it.”

My mother sighed heavily, and my father shook his head. “Tas, obviously your mom and I have serious reservations about this whole idea. But we do trust you. If you want to ride home with this—what’s his name? Mike?”

“Michael,” I answered, almost giddy that they were going to give in.

“Okay, Michael. If you feel that it’s safe for you to ride home with him, I guess it’s all right. But you need to take things really slow, understand? Be very, very careful.”

“I will. I promise.” They both looked so doubtful that I added, “I can do this. I know I can.”

“I’m a little worried.”

We were driving to school, and my mother broke the silence. I was preoccupied with thoughts of the coming day, and I glanced up at her in surprise.

“About what?” I wondered if she had picked up more about yesterday than I had shared. The thing about my particular talent is that sometimes, I don’t really buy that others cannot hear my thoughts. There have been many, many times that I was sure my mom was tapping into my mind, even though she claimed it was only mother’s intuition.

“You didn’t say anything about what everyone was wearing yesterday. That’s not like you.”

“Oh.” Relieved, I thought about the fashion scene at school. “Well, you know, it wasn’t that big a deal. Most girls were wearing shorts or cropped pants, jeans and that kind of stuff. I saw a couple of cute little sundresses. I think I’ll be okay with the summer clothes I have for now, although I might need a few shirts and maybe some jackets. The classrooms can get kind of cool, with the air conditioning.”

“All right. Should we plan a shopping trip this weekend then?” She turned onto the main street of town and glanced at me expectantly.

“Um… sure, I think that sounds good, as long as I don’t have too much homework.”

My mom nodded. “Okay.”

I could feel her reaching out to me tentatively, but I continued to stare out my window.

“Are you still upset because I wouldn’t let you walk to school today?”

I shrugged. “No. It’s okay.”

“You know it’s not that I don’t trust you. I just—”

“—want to keep me safe. I know.”

She sighed then and all the stress I’d caused her in the last twenty-four hours was heavy in that one breath.

“It’s not just from teenage boys that I want to protect you. You’re not used to Florida yet. There are alligators in the lakes, and water moccasins, too—”

Now I did turn from the window. “Are you serious? In every lake?” We just happened to be driving by a park that bordered an expanse of crystal blue water.

“Yep. Your dad told me that any standing water in this state can potentially have gators in it—even ditches.”

I shuddered. Maybe having my mom drive me to school wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

We pulled into the school parking lot, and I scooted out with a quick wave to my mother. I hated when things were tense between my parents and me; it made me feel off balance and cranky, probably because it happened so rarely.

I wandered toward the school building. It was still a little early, but I figured that I could find a bench and do some extra reading. There were a few other kids standing at lockers, but thankfully, their thought noise was muted this morning. I could easily handle blocking small numbers.

Although I didn’t even admit it to myself, I was keeping my eyes—and my mind—open for Michael. I had lay in bed the night before, envisioning different scenarios for today, imagining how I could let him know that I was free to accept a ride home from school. I didn’t want to be too pushy; what if he didn’t really mean it? What if he was just trying to be nice to me because I was new? What if he totally ignored me today? I had to be cool and not expect anything.

By the time I got to my locker, I had convinced myself that I probably wouldn’t even see Michael today. He had felt sorry for me yesterday after my run-in