Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Five
     
    Kate
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    I quietly shut the front door and lean back against it, smiling to myself. What an unexpected turn of events. I shake my head when I hear Jay’s bike start up and roar off into the distance. Death trap.
    “You’re home late,” my roommate, Casey, calls from the kitchen, startling me. “And why do you look all flushed?”
    “What are you doing up?” I ask her, ignoring her questions. I kick off my non-skid shoes, making a mental note that I’ll have to clean them before my next shift since the dirt and dust from the park is stuck to whatever restaurant gunk had already coated them.
    “Couldn’t sleep,” she says with a shrug, staring into her tea cup as if it holds the answers to the universe.
    “You feeling okay?” I ask, resting the back of my hand over her forehead as I walk by.
    She wiggles away from my touch. “Yes, mom.” I laugh at her as I grab a cup and fill it with the Brita pitcher from the fridge. I sit at the table and take in the tired, brown eyes of my friend.
    Casey and I have been roommates since freshman year; we got on like a house on fire. I thought I’d won the dorm lottery when I got matched with Case, though she would argue that it was her who’d won. We’ve faced some obstacles over the years with her health issues, but in the end, we’ve come out stronger. We’re all each other has out here. As much as she drives me crazy, she’s my best friend. My only true friend, really.
    Maybe that’s about to change, though. Maybe Jay will end up being my friend, too.
    “You’ve got that look in your eyes again,” Casey says, waving her hand in front of my face.
    I snap to attention. “What look?”
    “That faraway look you had when you walked in. You didn’t tell me why you’re so late,” she points out, raising her eyebrows.
    I look at the clock, it’s only half past one. It’s not like I’m that late. But, Casey has a valid concern. Typically, you can set your clock by me. I stick to my routines. I’m predictable. I’m boring . Gah, what is Jay ever going to see in a person like me?
    “Just a long night at work,” I quickly tell her so she won’t accuse me of zoning out again. “St. Patrick’s Day and all.” None of that’s a lie, really. It had been a long night at work, at least it felt like it.
    She nods, but eyes me strangely, like she knows I’m hiding something.
    “So what have you been up to lately? I feel like I haven’t seen you at all,” I say, changing the subject.
    “Studying for exams.” Casey is in the psychology program at Stanford. She’s as smart as me, if not smarter. We often challenge each other to battles of wits. I know, I know…we’re pretty badass.
    I groan. “This round has been a beast.”
    “Tell me about it. I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.”
    “I have a test in my nine o’clock.”
    “O. Chem?”
    “Yep.”
    “And you worked tonight? Are you crazy?”
    I shrug. “I was originally scheduled to be off, but someone had an emergency.”
    “I’m pretty sure an exam in Organic Chemistry is a bigger emergency,” Casey tells me. Her raised eyebrows and the death grip she has on her mug demonstrates just how freaked out she is on my behalf.
    “Relax, Case. I got this,” I say, reaching across the table and patting the hand gripping the mug until she loosens up. Sure, I’m not going to be in ideal form tomorrow morning, but one of the many benefits of having an almost eidetic memory is that I don’t have to be in ideal form. “But I am going to head to bed. I’m exhausted.”
    “Don’t forget to set your alarm,” she reminds me as I get up from the table and place my glass in the sink.
    “I won’t, mom,” I tease her.
    We’re both laughing as we say goodnight, but she stays at the table, staring into her tea, while I head off to my bedroom. I wonder what that’s all about, but I don’t dare pry. Casey will tell me when she’s good and ready, just like she