Rain 01 When It Rains Read Online Free PDF

don’t have. I’ve had enough of that today.
    She shakes her head at me and focuses her attention back to the TV. I think my mom has this idea of what real love should be, but I don’t think she’s ever experienced it. She’s dated lots of guys over the years but never stuck with one for long. I don’t even know if her idea of the right guy exists.
    “Can we just have ice cream?” I ask, breaking the silence. When I was younger, my mom and I used to eat ice cream for supper when I was sick. I think a heart full of excruciating pain qualifies.
    She looks at me and smiles. “Yeah, I just bought two cartons of Ben & Jerry’s this afternoon. What kind do you want?”
    “Did you happen to get Cherry Garcia?”
    “Of course, I did,” she says, patting my knee.
    We sit under the same large blanket, eating from our two large bowls of ice cream. It doesn’t take all of my pain away, but I don’t feel alone with it. I still can’t believe that Beau loves me. For so long, I’ve wanted him to want me, and maybe he has that whole time. Watching Beau leave tomorrow, especially after everything that happened today, is going to be really hard.
     

 
    I DON ’ T WANT TO WATCH B EAU LEAVE , but I can’t let him go without seeing him one more time. I know I can call him whenever I need to, but there’s just something about being able to see him that makes me feel so much better.
    I’m going to miss him, more than I probably even realize right now. We’ve gone through all the major phases of our lives together, but I’ve decided to sit this one out. When I chose not to go to college, I didn’t think I would regret the decision, but knowing Beau’s leaving without me in exactly twenty-six minutes is filling me with uneasiness. Things never seem to hit me until they are right in front of my face. Just like everything else, I’ve pretended that Beau will always be by my side, even though I knew he’d be leaving soon. In some ways, it’s easier to pretend, but right now all that time spent convincing myself that this day would never come is making my heart ache.
    I remember the day I moved into this house as if it was yesterday.
     
    My mom is busy unpacking boxes in the kitchen, and all I seem to do is get in her way, so I decide to walk out to the backyard to swing on the old tire that hangs from the big oak tree. I’m in my own world, a little sad that we’ve left my old neighborhood and friends. I’m not swinging that high; I’m having enough fun just digging my toes into the dirt. My mom’s going to be mad because I’m getting my good tennis shoes dirty, but I don’t care. I’m sick of moving, and I don’t care about these stupid shoes.
    I see a ball roll past my feet, stopping right in front of me. When I look up, there’s a boy in dirty grass stained blue jeans and a navy blue Power Rangers t-shirt. He has longish dark hair and smudges of mud all over his face. When he smiles, I laugh; he’s missing three of his front teeth and looks like one of my mom’s Halloween creations.
    “What are you laughing at?” he asks, looking behind his back.
    I giggle again. “Nothing.”
    “That swing isn’t safe, you know. See that up there?” he says, pointing at the branch that was hanging on to the trunk by a small piece of wood. “It’s going to fall soon. That’s what my mom says.”
    I ignore him, continuing to sway back and forth on the swing. Boys can be so dumb, and I’m only a little bit off of the ground. If I fall, it won’t hurt that much.
    “What’s your name?” he finally asks.
    “Kate,” I say, shielding the sun from my eyes. “What’s yours?”
    “Beau. Like a bow and arrow. My dad likes to hunt,” he says, smiling again.
    I don’t know much about hunting, because I don’t have a dad to tell me about it. I never have, and it doesn’t bother me until other kids talk about their dads.
    I climb out of the tire and straighten my shorts. “This town sucks.”
    Beau shrugs. “I think