Between the Lives Read Online Free PDF Page A

day?
    Maybe my arm will be broken when I go back and then stay that way when I return so that this day never really happened?
    But … if the rules are changing, what does that mean? Was there a way …? But I won’t let myself finish that long-forbidden thought.
    My head started to hurt. I tried to distract myself by thinking about the party tonight.
    Then I felt sick.
    I didn’t stay up past midnight often – and never around other people. But everyone had insisted. I was the only one who hadn’t had a house party this year, and this was my last opportunity. I wasn’t going to risk my reputation by not following through, so when a birthday/graduation bash at my place was suggested, I’d smiled brightly and said, ‘Absolutely!’
    I knew I’d have to be awake for the Shift. But after being awake for last night’s, I was now dreading tonight’s Shift even more. I hadn’t been awake for two consecutive Shifts in years. Not to mention how it was ratcheting up my string of awake hours.
    Just as I tried to formulate a plan to get myself somewhere private at midnight, the bell rang and Dex was at my side.
    ‘You do realise all the exams are over?’ he teased in his deep voice – the one that said he needed me to acknowledge him. He was pretty easy to read sometimes.
    I followed him out into the hall, slipped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. ‘I know, but with only one week left, I plan to finish on a good note.’
    He quirked an eyebrow. ‘You’ve already received your invite to Harvard, what better note could you finish on?’
    I shrugged. Truth be told, I was dreading going to Harvard and having to be around Ryan constantly. But when it came time to apply, I just couldn’t bring myself to pick colleges further away from Mom. If I wasn’t around to help her, she’d go to pieces.
    Out of nowhere, Dex pushed me up against the lockers. I gasped, but let him do it, hoping to feel something … more. His hips were dangerously close to mine. ‘The smart thing really does something for me,’ he said huskily.
    I smiled and let him kiss me.
    I felt like I could’ve pulled out a notepad and started documenting. At second two, he made a movement with his upper lip. At second four, his hand tightened around my waist. At second seven, he made that sound he does. And at second nine, my damn skin crawled and I had to pull away.
    ‘Will I see you at lunch?’ I asked, looking hopeful even though I knew the answer.
    ‘No,’ he said, staying close to my ear. ‘I’ve got track. You could come watch.’
    Hmm … let me think …
    ‘I would, but I have party planning to finalise.’
    ‘Yes. I imagine you do.’ He kissed me again, this time finishing at second-four’s hand tightening before releasing me. ‘I’ll see you later.’
    I nodded and watched him leave so that when he looked over his shoulder he saw me.
    Lucy, who had obviously been waiting for me, rushed to my side and we walked to calculus together. ‘You know he is, like, stupidly in love with you, right?’
    I laughed, feeling bad that my main feeling was relief he’d only gone as far as the fourth second on the last kiss.
    God. How was I going to get through sex? How many seconds would he actually last?
    ‘And so he should be,’ I answered cheekily before quickly moving on. ‘Back to party issues. Can you come over and get ready at my place tonight? I need your help to get Mom out the door.’
    Lucy beamed, in her element. She wanted to be an events consultant, and viewed all of our party planning as valuable work experience. ‘No problem, leave your mom to me.’

CHAPTER FOUR
Wellesley, Friday
    I stared at myself in the mirror as Miriam styled my hair. Blessedly the rest of the day had coursed by in its usual predictable way, helping me get on top of things again. Now everything was perfectly on schedule. Even the afternoon flash storm had come, flashed, and gone away with barely a trace.
    ‘Honestly, Sabine, if you would just let us