Fall of Venus Read Online Free PDF Page B

taking care of my niece, Evie. She lives with us. Me
and my parents, that is.”
    Marcus
has a distant look in is eyes. As if he is absorbed in his own deep thoughts. I
wonder if it was something I said. Acknowledging my pause, he shakes his head
and says, “Go on.”
    “My
boyfriend Glenn wants me to move in with him, but my parents never really liked
him. And I don’t want to leave Evie. Not yet, anyway. It’s too soon after Drake
died.”
    “Drake?”
asks Marcus.
    “He
was my brother. He died in the Deimosian War last summer. Stepped on a land
mine.” My voice quivers as I say those last few words. I’ve never really talked
about Drake since he died. Part of me is in denial, wanting desperately to
believe he is still down there, serving our country; that the dismembered limbs
they found belonged to some other poor soul. Speaking of his death makes it
feel undeniably real to me. That’s an emotion I just can’t handle right now.
    “I’m
sorry,” says Marcus.
      I press my lips together to hide their
trembling and bite my tongue to keep the tears from flowing. A discreet nod is
all I can do to respond.
    “This
looks like a good place to cross,” I say, pointing ahead at a narrow point in
the river.
    We
approach the spot where several large stones are scattered among the crushing
rapids. It’s hard to discern, but they look close enough together for us to hop
across the river.
    “Are
you sure?” shouts Marcus. “The rapids look pretty fierce here. We could go a
little further and see if there’s a safer place to cross.”
    The
foamy, white water is a ferocious stampede. Getting caught in its path would
mean certain death. I know it’s risky to cross here, but I need to quiet my
thoughts before I get too emotional in front of this total stranger.
    “We
don’t know what’s up ahead. I’d rather just cross now and get it over with. You
scared?” I raise my brow and smirk.
    Marcus
cocks his head and grins back, “You’re quite the daredevil, huh? Okay, looks
like an adventure. Let’s do it.”
    Marcus
insists on going ahead of me. He’s turning out to be quite the gentleman. And
to think, just this morning I was running from him like a fox from a hound.
    We
climb up onto a large stone on the bank and assess the crossing. There are
seven gigantic stones between the stone where we stand and the opposite bank.
It looks almost as if the stones were placed here intentionally for a crossing.
They all look large enough to hold both of us at the same time. The distance
between them should be narrow enough for us to jump over, although it is
difficult to judge the distance between the stones at the other side.  
    Marcus
hops onto the first stone then I follow behind him, wobbling a bit on the
slippery, uneven surface. He stays there until I regain my balance, before
hopping to the next stone. The first jump was easy, with only about a two-foot
distance between the stones. The next jump I almost lose my footing, but Marcus
grabs my waist, keeping me from falling into the spumy deathtrap. Despite the
danger that encompasses us, I find myself titillated by his touch. The sides of
my waist tingle with his residual energy, distracting me from the task at hand.
    Marcus
hops to the third stone and turns to me. I extend my leg and leap across.   Marcus catches my arms and steadies me,
as if he knew I would need the extra support.
    The
next stone is a very short hop, but my mind is no longer in the moment. I skip
across and the first thing I notice upon landing is that my shoe is soaking wet
and water is quickly climbing up the leg of my capris.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter
4
     
    My
overconfidence and distraction caused me to miss the stone completely and I’m
quickly sinking into the river. But Marcus’s quick reflexes react and he grabs
my right hand before the river washes me away. He clenches his jaw. His face
reddens and strains, forming deep wrinkles on his forehead.   The veins in his arms