Don't Forget to Breathe Read Online Free PDF Page B

fate.”
    “Okay, fate then.” I paused, thinking. “Becket asked me to go for coffee, but he never said when. And he never asked for my phone number.”
    “You mean he didn’t make an actual date?”
    “No.”
    “Don’t worry, girl. If he’s interested, nothing will stop that boy.”
    “Maybe he said that to be nice.”
    Nona countered, “Then why’d he want to drive you home if he wasn’t interested?”
    “Probably to repay Reggie for giving him a lift to his car.”
    “Leo, you’re reading too much into this. Stop dissecting every little thing.”
    I didn’t want to get my hopes up, yet, gambled a tiny squeal.
    ***
    An hour later, while lying on my bed finishing my math homework, I heard a tap on the window. Not again. I raised the blinds to see Henry leaning with both hands on the house.
    I drew up the window. “Hey, Henry. This is getting to be a habit.”
    “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Are you ignoring my calls?” I detected a trace of spite in his tone.
    “ No .” I had an idea. “You want to go for a walk?”
    His mouth curved. “Sure.”
    “I’ll meet you out front.” He nodded and pushed away from the house.
    I left my bedroom and noticed the interior of the house had darkened. Dad was nowhere in sight, he must’ve gone to bed early. I scrawled a note and placed it in the middle of the kitchen table. Snagging my hoodie and slipping a flashlight in the pocket, I went to meet Henry.
    Clouds had obstructed the moon sheathing the avenue in darkness. “It feels like rain,” I said and glanced to the menacing sky.
    “It gets dark so early, but this time of year rocks,” Henry said while following my lead. “Halloween is the best. What do people do in the Hallows?”
    “What’d you mean, do?” I crossed the street and stalled on the sidewalk in front of Henry’s house where I discovered my phone was missing. I kept my eyes lowered toward the ground ready to retrace my footsteps from last night.
    “New York’s a virtual nightmare around Halloween. Every year there’s kick-assing parties and the clubs are insane. We hit one of those haunted mansions or something.” He unzipped his jacket and winged the sides like he was too hot. “It’s even better when you’re flying high. I’m going to miss that.”
    “Star Hallow has haunted everything. People like to say their houses or farms are haunted and charge admission to scare the pants off you.”
    “Sweet. We’re going right?”
    “Umm…I never liked Halloween,” I lied, and kept my eyes to the ground.
    “You’re shitting me, right? We’re definitely doing something. I’ll bag us some good stuff so we can get really freaked-out. I’ll show you how we party in the city.”
    I had no intention of disclosing to the new boy that I essentially lived a nightmare the whole year. It had been right before Halloween when I found her. Even now, I see her body. I shuffled the memory away the best I could.
    Not that I participated last year, but Nona and the girls frequently had a master plan for celebrating Halloween. Besides, I didn’t want to commit to Henry. Especially since Becket finally knew I existed. As an alternative, I explained, “There’s this one decrepit place on Lucien Court. It’s haunted and… ”
    Henry broke in, “Are you looking for something?”
    Towing my head upward, I looked at his inquisitive eyes. “Yes, I lost my cell phone last night.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve looked for it earlier when it was light out.”
    “I didn’t get home from practice until almost seven.”
    “I never had to wait that long for you. Why so late?”
    “I missed the late bus so Nona and Reggie gave me a ride.” I answered with another petty fib. “I had to stay and watch the boy’s football.”
    His lips drew into an apologetic bumpy line. “I was so tired I raced home and zonked-out or I would’ve given you a ride. Sorry.”
    “It’s not your job to chauffer me around.” I returned my