Seconds Before Sunrise (The Timely Death Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

turning away as he yanked a pen out of his pocket and positioned his shoulders to me.
    The air left my lungs, but I was filled with the urge to scream at the partial stranger. He didn’t know me, and he had no right to read over my things whether I was taking notes or not. But his glare wasn’t just aggravating. It was confusing. He seemed upset, and I doubted it was over note-taking. His emotional response was the only reason I could hold back. Between Jonathon and him, I’d suddenly turned into a softy over night, and the nightmares didn’t help. I couldn’t even stand up for myself, and I had no idea why.

     
    Eric
     
    I wasn’t going to visit Jessica, but I couldn’t stop myself after everything that happened in class.
    Robb talked her into going out with friends, including Zac, and I dwelled on her doodles. She’d written his name down, and the notion struck a maddening match in my heart.
    Once the sun set, I walked most of the way to her house and carefully transported into her bedroom. Nothing had moved. Her bed was against the far wall, and her blinds were pulled up, allowing moonlight in. The silver coloring stretched across her torso, and her dark eyelashes moved when she dreamt. At a distance, I watched her flip over, and I held my breath as her curly hair moved across her pillow. I wanted to wake her up, but I knew I couldn’t. Seconds were enough for me. I had to leave.
    I melted into the shadows, but a hand grabbed my arm and pushed me against the wall. Jessica’s desk shook, and I froze as a boy sprung up from the shadows, his hair as wild as his green eyes. It was Pierce.
    Our eyes locked . “What are you doing here?” we hissed simultaneously.
    I tilted my head toward Jessica. “Are you joking?”
    As the words left my mouth, Jessica mumbled in her sleep and curled up in her blankets. We watched her, holding our breath, but she didn’t wake up. We looked back at each other.
    “Outside, Shoman. ” Pierce’s breath seethed between his teeth. “Now.”
    “Fine.”
    He disappeared, but I lingered, glancing at Jessica one last time. Her back rose, and a part of me hoped she would awaken. Another stronger part of me understood that would be the worst scenario.
    I left.
    My body reformed with mist and grace, and I shook my arms in front of myself. Black and blue droplets splattered across the front lawn, and I stared at the unusual scene, remembering how Jessica showed it to me months ago. I still hadn’t figured out how to control the power.
    “I’m up here,” Pierce said, snapping his fingers to gain my attention.
    “I know why I was here.” I waited for his excuse. He was my best friend, but I wasn’t going to trust the fact that he was in my girlfriend’s bedroom.
    The veins on his arms pushed against his skin. “Let’s walk,” he said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. Without my consent, he walked aw ay, and I was forced to follow.
    He crossed the lawn , dipped past the sidewalk, and walked onto a trail that led to our school. His pupils radiated in blackness, and I had to look away from him to keep myself from searching his eyes for something I didn’t want to see. Our silence was heavy, aside from the tapping of our shoes as we strode yards away from Jessica’s house. The tapping was so deafening, it seemed to affect my heartbeat.
    “I’m her guard,” he said . Pierce had taken two steps before he realized I had frozen.
    “What?” I asked, remembering how I’d already heard the informat ion. I knew she was getting one, but I never suspected Pierce.
    H e pushed at his nose as if his glasses were still in place. “I was assigned to keep an eye on her since I can in both worlds. We have class together—”
    “Why does she need a guard?”
    She was safe, wasn’t she? That was the entire point of erasing her memory − so she couldn’t activate her powers and figure out the situation. She would be entirely human, and Darthon would have no one to chase. It had been