Catching Temptation (In Darkness She Fades (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

taking a dance class as long as I don’t have to do
anything in front of the school.”
    “What about choir? Do you sing at
all?” Mrs. Peters pierces me with her hypnotic gray eyes.
    A chilling wave of memories
prickles the hairs on my skin. Flashes of the car crash speed through my mind.
My sheet music for that night’s performance flying all over the car, dotted
with flecks of blood. “No. I’m sorry Mrs. Peters, but I’m horrible at singing.”
    “Shame, we needed another
singer.” Mrs. Peters finishes her scribbles on the paperwork. “Here’s your
class schedule. You will need to get your photo taken for your school ID.
Please take advantage of the library; we have an excellent young adult
section.” She winks.
    “Thank you.” I abandon the
foldout table and stroll over to the line for photo ID cards. Ten minutes
later, I clip the ID tag on my black widow pendant. A group of skaters chill
out on one of the lunch tables. Marching up to the group, I say, “What’s up?”
    An awkward moment of silence
causes me to feel like an idiot. The skaters’ blank stares do not help the
numbness pumping through my veins. “Could one of you tell me where Mr.
Hollenbeck’s Biology class is? I’m sort of new.”
    “Sort of new.” The girl with
brown dreadlocks speaks up. A nasty smell wafts off her hair. “No. You’re
either new or you’re not. There’s no sort of about it. Dang, I’m not
even that stupid when I’m stoned. Pathetic.” The girl’s sinister eyes square me
off before disregarding me altogether.
    The boys do not interfere, but
their anticipation for a catfight reflects from the eagerness in their eyes.
    I am not amused. “Look,
miss-reeks-a-lot, I didn’t come over here to get a stupid answer of what you
think of me. I asked where Mr. Hollenbeck’s class is. But I guess a pothead
like you already smoked yourself stupid if you can’t even recollect one question.”
    Skater girl jumps up. “I’ll drain
you for dinner–”
    One of boys, scrawny and tall,
snatches the skater girl’s raised fist.
    “Whelan let me go!”
    Whelan ignores the fidgeting girl
and points down the jammed hallway. “Go out into the courtyard in the middle of
the school and you’ll see the sign on one of the doors.”
    “Thanks.” I desert the harassed
skater girl to the encouragement of her friends. Abandoning the cafeteria, I
stride toward the courtyard. “So much for starting over.” Pulling out my phone,
I insert my earphones, and tune out the material world suffocating every happy
emotion left within. I do not understand why the drumming rock music calms me
down, but I embraced it. Arm and hip shove the metal door, and I enter the
sunlit courtyard. The chains on my pants ping together while I stride down the
sidewalk. A giant maple tree shades the middle of the courtyard. A group of
students congregates beneath the bushy branches. Surveying the crowd more
closely, I notice Daniel in the group. A snooty-looking girl sneers in my
direction. The orange-haired twin wraps his arms around the girl’s waist. His
eyes find mine. He smirks.
    I returned my attention to
seeking out the Biology classroom, ignoring the couple. Arriving at the door, I
reach for the smudged handle.
    “New girl!”
    I freeze. Twisting my rigid body
back to the gathering students, I remove the earphones.
    Slightly above the
crowd, the other twin lounges on the stiff bark up in the tree. He slouches
forward on a curvy branch. His muscular arms bulge against the branch. No
wonder he’s so popular. Probably has a big…ego, too.
               
“If you’re depressed, I know a way to make your troubles disappear.” His
bewitching grin seems as sweet as frosting and as deadly as poison. I know I
cannot trust him.
    It must be
mess-with-Temptation-week. The gleam in his eyes causes a burst of blush to
redden my cheeks. Daniel laughs with the rest of the crowd.
    The girl with the fire-haired
twin yells, “I’ll give you something