Fractured Light Read Online Free PDF

walk away right now.”
    May frowned. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry, really I am. If you say you didn’t feel well, then I believe you. Friends?”
    I took a deep breath. “Of course.”
    “Hey, May,” a male voice called after we placed our order. “Come eat with us.”
    May glanced behind her. “Be there in a sec.” She turned to me. “Go sit with Adam when you get your food. I’ll be right there.”
    “Adam? As in Adam who was riding with Christian?”
    “Yeah, I guess,” she replied nonchalantly.
    I looked for an empty table by the window. “Actually I’m going to eat over there.”
    Pimple-face dropped my food on a tray as if it were a case of nails; several fries slipped from the greasy fry bag. May let out an exaggerated sigh. “You can’t be serious? Just go over and sit down. It’s not a big deal.”
    “You know how it is with me. Let’s keep it that way.”
    “Do you want me to sit with you?”
    I looked back to the lone table I’d found. Sunlight spilled in from the window, encasing the two-top as if it were in its own single world. “No. I’m cool.”
    “All right. If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”
    After we split ways, I set my tray down and slid into the seat. I really didn’t mind eating alone; it was something I was used to. I closed my eyes and let the light from the sun warm my skin.
    “Why don’t you come over and join us?” a gentle voice asked.
    I opened my eyes and blinked once, twice, three times. I stared at the boy standing across from me as if I could see right through him. Christian . His eyebrows arched slightly, almost hopeful. I looked down.
    When I didn’t answer, he said, “I’m Christian,” and held out his hand. His skin was light bronze like a perfectly baked cookie right out of a hot oven. I didn’t reach for his hand, as appetizing as it looked. Instead I took a sip of water.
    Christian cleared his throat and shifted his weight. I wasn’t making this easy on him, but I wasn’t deliberately trying to be rude. I just couldn’t figure out why he was talking to me.
    He asked again, “Will you join us?”
    I swallowed. The cold liquid slid down my throat and hit my stomach. The shock of it helped me find my voice. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll just eat here in the sun.”
    He nodded, as if thinking. A red car blaring rap music drove away from the drive-thru window; the bass shook the glass. He waited for it to pass before he asked, “Can I join you?”
    “Why?” I blurted before I had a chance to think how that might sound.
    Christian didn’t miss a beat. “Because I like it here too. There’s something about the sun’s light.” He looked up and out the window toward the sky. “It’s peaceful, like lying in a boat in the middle of a perfectly still lake.”
    My jaw dropped. I’d never heard anyone speak about light that way. I didn’t know if I should be impressed or frightened.
    Christian frowned. “That sounded stupid. Sometimes I say lame things. Adam’s always giving me a hard time.”
    “Have you known Adam long?”
    Christian looked back to where he’d been sitting. “Hold that question. Let me get my food.” He walked away.
    I started to tell him I hadn’t said he could eat with me, but stopped. So I eat lunch with a boy? Big deal. He probably wouldn’t talk to me after this anyway. I took a bite of my cheeseburger and tilted my head so I could hear what he was going to say.
    Ultra sensitive hearing is another trait I’d inherited, but not from my mother. My father had joked that it was the only useful thing he’d given me. Whenever I asked where he got his good hearing, he’d simply shrug and give me a mischievous grin.
    “Later guys. I’m eating with Llona,” Christian said.
    “Why?” Mike spat with a mouth full of food. I practically heard hamburger chunks spray from his mouth and hit the table.
    “She seems cool,” Christian said. The sound of his tray sliding against the table