Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page A

put back more than the legal amount of alcohol, and managed to wreck Lita’s brand new car on our way home. At the scene of the accident, marijuana had been discovered stuffed inside the glove compartment of her candy-red Sentra. It had not been a good evening. All five of us involved tested positive for THC, spent a few days in Juvenile Detention, had our licenses temporarily suspended, and came out of the incident with tainted records and months spent on parole doing community service. Not to mention our friend, Conor Reinhardt, had to spend six months in physical therapy for a leg injury. He still limped occasionally.
    “Everything’s fine. We just had a scare,” I said as I motioned for her to leave my room.
    Amber glanced at us warily. The reminder of last year’s incident had brought the color back into Monroe’s cheeks.
    “We’re fine,” Monroe echoed. Amber took the hint.
    “I’m just down the hall, Dayton,” Amber said as she walked out the door.
    I slammed it behind her. My irritation with Amber was evident. I knew she loved me, but I wished she’d find a new way to show me she cared. Being pushy was her preferred method. It annoyed me only because the older we became, the more she sounded like my aunt. Monroe walked toward me.
    “Why didn’t you tell Amber about the face in the window?” I asked.
    She looked down at the floor.
    “I wasn’t sure it was real."
    She didn’t have to say more. We both knew she had a talent for seeing things no one else could see. Visions her mother called it. Her parents considered it an esteemed gift. As practicing Wiccans, her family valued the rare ability. Sometimes it frightened Monroe, mainly because she couldn’t always discern vision from reality. She’d never admit it though. She saw it as a failing. I felt it meant she was incredibly powerful. The more real a vision appears, the more ability you must have. The concept made sense to me.
    “Let’s put in a comedy,” I suggested lightly while moving over to the bed. Monroe nodded.
    I’d never admit it, but the window incident had me freaked out. I kept glancing over at the side of my room. Monroe settled in next to me, and we went through her movies, popping in one we knew we’d both laugh at before settling in for the night.
    The sky outside my window grew darker, the crickets outside grew louder, and my Grumpy Care Bear nightlight made up for the lack of light as the sun faded completely.  Sleep came to us. The dream engulfed me. But, used to it as I was, it only woke me up once that night. I stared at my bedroom window as I came to. My heart was beating fast. The window mesmerized me. Maybe it was a mix of the dream and Monroe’s vision but I could swear that I saw a face. It seemed familiar to me, and I squinted. It was gone. One blink and it was no longer there. Grumpy Bear scowled back at me. Weariness carried me away again.

 
     
    Chapter 2
     
    In spirit, she is her mother. The mystery of her life will be hard to unravel. She will grieve. But, as her mother before her, she will own her problems even when it seems she has given up. This I trust.
    ~Bezaliel~
     
    My alarm clock buzzed, and I threw my pillow at it. It missed and fell on Monroe instead.
    “Hey!” she grumbled before sitting up on her sleeping bag reluctantly. I peered over the side of the bed and grinned.
    “Oops.”
    She threw me a glare before pushing herself off the floor. You didn’t ignore an alarm at the Abbey. The clock read 5 a.m. Days tended to dawn early here. It was a religious thing. And today, of all days, you didn’t oversleep. It was Sunday. At the Abbey, it was a day of reckoning. I sat up and glanced at the window. Light was beginning to chase away the darkness, fog wove along the grass and among the trees, tiny sparkles glinted off a small pond in the distance, and there was an exuberant chorus of bird calls. The sight should have been comforting, but the vision of a face plagued me.
    “I guess I’m