Rain 01 When It Rains Read Online Free PDF Page A

doesn’t move to get out. I chance a quick glance to see him staring forward with his jaw clenched. I look away, frustrated with myself for not being able to move forward. I wish there was a way to end the war being fought inside of me right now.
    I grab my purse and open the door, carefully stepping down and shutting the door without looking back. I start to walk across his yard to my house when I hear his car door shut. He’s mad which means he’ll probably walk behind his house and lay on top of the old trampoline. If it’s light out, he’ll close his eyes to listen to the sounds that surround him, but if it’s dark, he’ll stare at the stars. He’s been doing it since he was ten.
    I’m almost to my front steps when I feel a big hand wrap around my upper arm. I flinch. I have a hard time being touched, but I have an even harder time when I don’t see it coming.
    I spin around, ready to battle, but when I see the sad, dark look on his face, I stop. Nothing I can say or do is going to be worse than what I’ve already done today.
    “Are you going to come over and say goodbye to me in the morning?” he asks, defeated. I force a slight smile onto my face. He won’t leave tomorrow if he thinks I’m upset with him. Truth is, I’m not upset with him . . . I’m only upset with myself.
    “Yes, what time are you leaving?”
    “Nine in the morning,” he says, swallowing hard. He’s staring at my lips like he wants to taste them.
    Panic grips my chest tight and I can’t pretend anymore. I hate when he looks at me like that. “I’ll come over in the morning,” I say, wiggling from his grasp. I hear him say my name twice before I get in the house, but I don’t turn around. I can’t let him complicate things. My life is already a crazy maze that I can’t find my way out of.
    I’m surprised to see my mom sitting in the living room when I open the door. Sometimes I feel like we’re just roommates co-existing in the same space. She works the morning shift at the diner, then comes home to change before working at the local bar and grill in the evening. She rarely has a day off.
    She looks up at me, smiling. “Hey, where have you been?”
    “I went swimming with Beau. He’s leaving tomorrow,” I say, looking down at my fingernails.
    “I still don’t understand why you decided not to go to college. Don’t you at least want to enroll in some classes at the community college? Nurses make really good money, you know.” I hate having this conversation, and I’m certainly not in the mood to have it now. I don’t want to go to college because I don’t want to be around other people my age. Besides, college is for people who know what they want and have dreams for the future.
    “I’m just taking this year off. I’ll save some money, and then I can go next year,” I answer, continuing to avoid her eyes. “What are you doing home, anyway? I thought you had to work tonight?”
    She looks a little taken back by my question. “I thought you would need me tonight since your best friend is leaving tomorrow.”
    I’m surprised that she even remembered to be honest. I usually have to remind her of everything, and I haven’t brought up Beau’s departure once. She seems to know what I’m thinking and points to the calendar next to the computer desk. I’d written down the day he was leaving months ago, silently counting down the days.
    I look back at her and relax my shoulders. “Thanks.”
    “Do you want to order pizza and watch a movie? Beau can come over if he’s not busy,” she says, patting the spot next to her on the couch.
    “I don’t think Beau wants to come over tonight,” I say, sitting down next to her. I can see her staring at me out of the corner of her eye.
    “You know, I always thought the two of you would end up together someday,” she says, using her fingertips to move a few pieces of hair out of my eyes.
    “He’s just a friend.” I don’t want to talk about Beau and what we have or