November Rain Read Online Free PDF Page A

action.”
    â€œOkay.” Elias gave Joe his phone number and took Joe’s in return. Things were moving faster than Elias was ready for, but they’d see each other more and that was all Elias cared about.
    â€œWell, I’ll look forward to you calling.” Elias clamored off his knees and backed away. “And milk. Tomorrow. I’ll just leave it outside.” He picked up his jacket, embarrassed suddenly about his enthusiasm. Joe might have a boyfriend and probably had several lovers. Most likely he didn’t need another friend, especially not one at least ten years younger who worshipped him childishly.
    â€œYou don’t have to.”
    Elias didn’t want to argue, so he went to the door and called, “Goodbye, Joe. And thank you again” before he left.

Chapter Four
    Even the rain-slick streets couldn’t dim Elias’s mood. He turned up his radio, singing along with One Direction. He hadn’t felt this happy since the first time a boy at a party gave him a come-hither look and slipped into a darkened hallway.
    Elias suspected he was happier now, though, because he didn’t remember the name of that boy, and his excitement had waned as soon as he’d smelled the beer on the boy’s lips and felt the boy’s hands groping in places Elias hadn’t wanted to be touched. Joe was perfect, all the more so because being injured, he wouldn’t want the things boys at college had wanted from Elias. At least not right away. Joe needed help and could offer kisses. He was safe.
    Elias’s phone beeped to show a text message from his brother, but Elias ignored it as he made his way home. The large, older house had been divided into two. An elderly woman occupied the other side, and though Elias had lived at the address a year, he knew her only from when she picked up her mail by the front door.
    He parked behind the shiny Honda his brother had bought to impress his new wife then let himself in the front entry. As Elias jogged up the stairs he called to his sister-in-law in Amharic, “Sara? Are you home?”
    She didn’t answer, but that wasn’t surprising. His brother’s wife was so soft-spoken sometimes Elias barely heard her.
    The Abrahams’ layout wasn’t so different from Joe’s, except there were two small bedrooms leading off from the combined living room, dining room and kitchen. While Joe’s place had white walls and mismatched brown and blue furnishings, Elias’s brother’s walls were draped in tapestries of cream, brown and gold. The smell was completely unlike Joe’s house, though—chicken with paprika and turmeric instead of pizza and tuna fish.
    Sara sat at the dining room table, staring out the window at the rain. Despite being indoors and alone, she wore a scarf made of rough-hewn cotton draped over her head and around her neck. She stroked it absentmindedly.
    â€œSara?” Elias pulled out a chair, frowning at her stricken expression.
    She blinked, rubbing the heel of her hand across her face to wipe away tears. “I’m sorry.” Her Amharic sounded different from the version Elias had grown up with. Maybe Elias spoke with an American accent. “Your brother has been trying to reach you. Why haven’t you texted him?”
    Elias shrugged. He didn’t want to speak with his brother until he could clear his mind of Joe. At the very least, he needed to be sure he was no longer giddy. “I’ll send an answer.”
    His phone showed three text messages, all demanding to know what had happened after the shooting.
    I’m fine. Elias’s text response felt like a lie. So many things had happened that day. Elias was a different person than he’d been that morning.
    â€œWould you like some food? Coffee?” Sara asked.
    â€œYes. That would be nice.”
    Sara was usually happier when she was in the kitchen. Though today, Elias heard her drag in a sob as she