Lucky Penny Read Online Free PDF

It’ll be okay, I promise.”
    Disappointment started to fill my chest. She was going to say no and then things would be awkward between us. She didn’t look like the type of girl who would break the rules, but I just wanted to take her mind off whatever it was that was making her so sad.
    I stood ready to bolt from the room when she told me no, but instead, she surprised me by saying, “Okay.”

    When I had first arrived at the Freeman house almost a year ago, I’d been quick to work out all the escape routes. I had been in a couple of foster homes before this one, and although the foster parents weren’t as strict as Derek and Marie, most had rules. Over time, I became a master at climbing, jimmying windows, and crawling out of the smallest of spaces.
    Backing onto Cenci Park, the house was the perfect place for an escape. The yard was long and narrow and cloaked by trees along one side that snaked across the bottom. That was the perimeter of the park. If you stayed close, the shadows swallowed you up so someone looking out from the kitchen window couldn’t see you. We didn’t risk it a lot, but when I’d first arrived, Bennett had brought me out here a couple of times after lights out. He said I was a natural at escaping.
    Penny… not so much.
    She had almost cried when her sweater snagged on the window lock, and then she let out a squeal when I returned from checking to make sure the coast was clear. She was a sucky accomplice, but we finally reached the trees and followed the path down to the bottom of the yard.
    “Are you sure we won’t get caught?” she asked for the twentieth time.
    “I’ve done this before. We’ll be okay as long as you can keep quiet. You almost gave us away back there.” I glanced over my shoulder and watched Penny chew her bottom lip between her teeth.
    “Sorry.”
    “It’s okay. Come on, it’s not much further.” I turned back and continued down the yard, using my arms to shield my face from the branches.
    The end of the yard wasn’t fenced off; it was a border of thick trees separating it from the park. On the other side was what we called No Man’s Land. We figured it was the outer perimeter of the park, but no one ever came out this far, and the main paths were a way away. When we couldn’t walk any further, I told Penny to stay put as I used my hands to feel for the hole we had created between the trees.
    “Got it. Come on,” I whispered, straining to make out Penny’s face.
    I felt her move toward me, and then she was almost face to face with me. My heart did that weird thing again.
    “Where does that lead?” she asked, and I blinked remembering where we were and what we were doing.
    “Follow me.”
    Penny stuck close behind me as we ducked into the trees. Bennett got out to meet his friends this way sometimes, making the path well worn. After a few seconds, the trees opened up around us, and we spilled out into the clearing. I wasted no time and dropped down onto the grass to lie on my back.
    “Wha-what are you doing?”
    I patted the space next to me, and Penny slowly inched down until she was kneeling next to me.
    “You have to lie back or you won’t see them.”
    “See what?”
    “Just trust me. You’ll want to see them,” I said.
    She lay back and a few wisps of her hair brushed my face. We were shoulder to shoulder staring up at the sky.
    “Wow.” Her voice was so quiet.
    “Yeah, wow,” I replied admiring the stars.
    They shone even brighter when it was a clear night, and tonight was perfect.
    Neither of us said anything else. Besides, I didn’t bring her out here to talk. I just wanted to share this with her. The first time Bennett had brought me out here, he told me this was ours. Somewhere we could come when things at the house were too much. I didn’t know what he meant back then, but I quickly learned.
    My eyes tracked the stars, trying to identify the constellations Bennett had pointed out to me over our nights spent out here. I could