Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

midway past the second floor, the ground started to spin a bit. Who knew I was afraid of heights?
    By the time I fell over the edge onto the roof, I was shaking all the way down to my boots. Fairly certain I wouldn’t make it back down, I glanced around searching for a place to spend the night up there.
    My breath stopped. Felt like my heart stopped beating. There was another person on the roof with me.
    He crouched in the moonlight, black-clad, winter cap pulled down casting a shadow across his face. The man clearly saw me and did not move a muscle.
    My mind raced through options. Scream? Run? Jump? Who would be up here like a thief in the night. Other than me. Wait, his black leather jacket looked familiar.
    “Artist guy?” I tried to sound confident. I’d read that rapists can tell when someone is insecure. My voice broke like a little kid’s, cracking and rising a pitch. Damned voice.
    “Horror writer?” he asked.
    I let out a huff of breath. “Holy monkey nuts, you scared the everlovingcrap out of me.”
    “Holy what?” He remained crouching.
    “Uh, nothing. So, what’s up?” I went for insouciance. A little light hearted humor might make my heart stop jackhammering in my chest.
    “I’m thinking of jumping. Wondering what it would feel like.”
    “Haha, funny.” I stood and rubbed my sore shoulders from the climb.
    “Not joking.”
    I could tell he wasn’t. I swallowed hard, even made an embarrassing gulping sound.
    No one said anything for a long while.
    “Why?” I finally asked.
    “Why what?”
    “Why’re you planning to jump?”
    “Dunno.”
    “But, you came up here to kill yourself?”
    “Yep.” Couldn’t one thing in this gods-forsaken place called Virginia go as planned? My quick trip to school turned into something much more serious.
    Should I inch toward him and pull him from the edge like they do in cop films? Should I try to remind him of his loved ones? I went for honesty.
    “You know, I’d really rather you not do that.”
    Nothing.
    “If you’re going to jump, could I at least ask you a question first?”
    “A what?” he said.
    “A question.”
    “Uh, okay, horror-girl.”
    “Really, not stairs-girl?”
     “Please, I’m not actually trying to hurt your feelings. Question?”
    “I’ve often wondered, if you plan to kill yourself, why not get on a plane to some war-torn place and help people? Run out into battle fields and drag hurt children to safety or something. That way, when you finally die, you’re doing something amazing.”
    He moaned, “Oh crap, your an idealist. Could you please leave me alone now?”
    “I would, but I’m actually too scared to climb back down.” I kept talking, “Or, if you don’t want to go to a war zone, why not go out with a bang? Do something totally wild you always wanted to try?
    “Like what?” He shifted his crouch but stayed at the edge.
    “Like, steal an ice cream truck and drive to Mexico or something.”
    He laughed. Leaned back and the moon shone on his face. He’d been crying.
    Finally he answered, “I think because, if you’re killing yourself, you’ve given up. You can’t imagine anything being fun or worthwhile.”
    “Is that how you feel?” I took a step toward him.
    “Yeah. I just feel sort of empty.”
    “Well, then let’s give it a shot. If you’re going to kill yourself, before you do, lets do something wild and see if it helps.” I got even closer until I was right next to him. Left my arms at my side, just stood there.
    “You going to come with me?” He looked skeptical.
    “Yeah, why not. Nothing for me here either. What’s the worst that could happen.”
     

 
    Rafael
     
    Tough-guy talked me down the ladder while I kept my eyes shut.
    At the bottom we realized that neither of us had any idea where to go for life-affirming mischief.
    “Hey I know a cool place,” he said. “It’s out in the woods behind the school. There’s a weird spot like two miles out. The trees are cleared in a