Kaleidoscope Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page A

me with a grin.
    Tears begin to well in my eyes as I stand there, looking at the way the light reflects off of it, and thinking of Wyatt. I wipe my eyes, take a breath, and walk out, locking the door behind me. I make it back to Vic’s and hear him in the shower. I pop open a bottle of wine while I work on the dip, pouring the mashed beans at the bottom, the avocado in the middle, and sour cream on top. Once I’m done making a large bowl of that, I take out the Crock-pot I bought my brother three Christmases ago that he clearly hasn’t used, and begin to set up some meatballs. Taking one last sip of wine, I walk to my room and throw myself into the bed.

I DON’T KNOW how long I sleep, but boisterous shouts coming from the living room downstairs wake me from my nap. I blink rapidly, trying to clear my eyes, as I drag myself out of bed and walk to the bathroom. My reflection is a mess, so I brush my elbow-length hair, and put drops in my eyes until the pink clears and they’re back to bright hazel. After applying some make-up, I readjust my black Elvis is King shirt so that the loose part at the top falls off my left shoulder, and brush off my fashionably torn jeans before heading down to the living room. It isn’t until I’m already there that I realize I’m still wearing my Darth Vader slippers. It’s too late to turn around though, since I’ve already been spotted.
    “Hey, Elle,” Jenson calls out, making all heads turn my way.
    “Hey, Jenson. Did you move back?”
    “Nope, but I’ll be around a lot for the next couple of months,” he says.
    “Cool. Hey guys,” I say, looking around the room and waving at Oliver, Vic and some blonde guy I’ve never met.
    “Hey,” they all say unanimously.
    “Elle, this is Bobby. Bobby, this is my sister, Estelle,” Vic says, not taking his eyes off the television.
    Bobby stands and offers me his hand, which I take. He’s actually pretty good looking in a preppy, boy-next-door kind of way, which makes me smile because I was wrong—he’s not like all of my brother’s friends. He’s not tall and athletic like Vic and Oliver. He doesn’t have the bad boy thing going that Jenson has, but he flashes a huge Colgate smile as he shakes my hand, and I am treated to the charming vibe that they all share. It’s one that makes women do a double take, regardless of what a man looks like.
    “When you said little sister, I was picturing a teenager with braces,” Bobby says as his eyes travel down my body.
    I drop my hand from his. “I’m sure that’s what he sees when he describes me.”
    “That’s definitely not how I would describe you.”
    At the hint of flirting in his tone, I look over his shoulder to look at Vic’s reaction, but instead my eyes land on Oliver’s. It kills me that I can’t tell what he’s thinking. He doesn’t look upset or jealous, or even curious; he’s just staring.
    “I’m not sure I want to know how anybody would describe me,” I respond.
    Before he can say anything else, I step away and walk to the kitchen to get the stuff I made and place it on the table, somehow managing to dodge the beer bottles that cover it.
    “She’s beautiful, and she cooks?” Bobby says, reaching for a chip. “I think I might keep her.”
    “Yeah, right,” Jenson says, slightly bothered. My brother’s friends have this thing. They think they’re all supposed to protect me from outsiders, as if the danger lies beyond their lair. I think my engagement with Wyatt threw them over the edge since none of them saw it coming.
    “You’re not going to give Bobby the whole spiel about staying away from your sister?”
    My eyes find Oliver’s again, and I smile when he pats the space beside him. My body stirs, wanting to move toward him, but my brain zaps sense into me. I take a seat beside Victor instead.
    “Drop it,” Vic says in response to Jenson’s comment.
    “When we were young, we all got this huge lecture about it,” Jenson explains. I lean forward