Modern Monsters (Entangled Teen) Read Online Free PDF

assumes all of Mr. Mason’s clients are serial killers and rapists. Although given how she reacted to these accusations, maybe she thinks I need a defense lawyer.
    God, the look on her face keeps popping back into my head and making my chest hurt. Maybe running away from my problems for tonight will be okay.

Chapter Three
    T he guest bed in Brett’s house is more comfortable than my own bed. Too bad it doesn’t really help me fall asleep. My brain is moving too fast, still running over the same questions again and again. Wondering. Worrying. Mom doesn’t call. I text to let her know that I’m at Brett’s, but she doesn’t write back.
    Brett must have told his parents what’s going on, because the next morning they’re both extremely quiet. They probably don’t know what to say. Before we leave, Mrs. Mason gives me a five-dollar bill for lunch and pecks me on the cheek, telling me to try to have a good day.
    These are things my mom hasn’t done for me in years. When I was little, she was better about it. She’d pick me up and hug me, kiss me, tell me how everyone said I looked just like her, with her same big blue eyes and long lashes. She’d tell me she loved me. I don’t really know when that changed. Sometime around middle school, I guess.
    Brett fills the car with his usual banter and easy conversation on our way to school. I wish I could feel any level of comfort, and I know he’s trying to keep things on a light note for my sake. It’s appreciated, but it isn’t helpful.
    We part ways for the first half of the day and I try not to think that every time someone looks at me, they’re aware of what’s going on. That the cops visited the house of every student and told them what happened to Callie, and that I’m responsible for it. Paranoia : a mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution. That’s all it is. People aren’t talking about Callie or me. Nobody knows.
    Except—
    I remember the girl getting stuff out of Callie’s locker. One of her friends, obviously, so maybe she knows something. If I could get a message back to Callie through her friend, maybe…
    I ditch Brett at lunch in favor of going to Callie’s locker. I don’t know the girl I saw, and asking around seems like looking for trouble. So I wait. Hoping I’ll at least spot her coming down the hall when lunch ends. The first bell goes off. The hallway fills with students as they head to class. I stay where I am.
    Second bell.
    And there she is.
    I push away from Callie’s locker as I spot the girl weaving through the crowd. I attempt a “Hey!” but, given the number of people, I don’t blame her for not turning around.
    She rounds a corner. Instead of going into a classroom, she walks out the double doors leading to the quad, maybe heading for the library or the gym. I jog to catch up, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “Hey—”
    The next thing I know, the sky is above me and I’m hitting the ground as my legs are knocked out from under me. I see stars. In broad daylight. Concussion: minor brain injury that may occur when one’s head strikes an object. Ow.
    The girl’s face comes into view as I’m blinking the white from my vision. “You following me, jackass?” she snarls. “I know who you are. You’ve got some fucking nerve.”
    I push myself up to sit, scooting back on the concrete to avoid getting struck again in the event she lashes out. “N-no—I mean, y-yes. I j-just wanted—”
    “Wanted to what? I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
    “I…I saw you at Callie’s l-locker…”
    “If I had my way, they would have thrown your sorry ass in jail already. You realize they’re getting a restraining order against you.”
    “I—”
    “Better not let me see you in the parking lot, ’cause you’d better believe I’ll mow you down.”
    “ I didn’t touch her! ”
    The heat of my voice startles me. I’m not a yeller. I keep quiet, under the radar. But those words felt like they were going to