Silver Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

in, I was feeling slightly tipsy, which meant it was time to work off the alcohol on the dance floor. Adam was usually a buzz kill in party situations, but Maddie’s magic potion seemed to have melted away his reserve. He didn’t even fight her when she pulled him to join us. Thankfully, Maddie obeyed my request to keep her hands to herself, so the fact that the three of us were dancing together didn’t seem as uncomfortable as I’d initially envisioned it would be.
    If anything, it was nice to see my brother relax for a change; I rarely saw him smile. There was always a tension on his face and in his shoulders, especially in party situations. It was like he didn’t want to be there, as if his mind never really accompanied his body to any social event he attended.
    Sometimes I couldn’t help but think that our parents had really done a number on us. In our house, mindless fun was a forbidden fruit. My mother saw drinking and dancing as an utter waste of time and talent. Unless I was drinking a glass of vintage red at an art gala or dancing in a ballet, of course. And while there was nothing wrong with wine, art, and ballet—though I’d definitely never performed in one—it just wasn’t me.
    Because of my upbringing, I’d never had a fair chance to fully discover who I was or explore who I wanted to be. The first time I snuck out to a concert to see my favorite rock band, I ended up being grounded for six months. My parents wouldn’t even look at my acceptance letter to The Art Institute of Colorado. They didn’t support the validity of a Bachelor’s degree in Photography and had made it clear that the rest of the world wouldn’t either.
    Our biggest disagreement—not a fight as “the Silver family didn’t have fights”—came when I suggested taking a year off after graduating Stanford to join Maddie abroad. My parents’ reaction to the news was akin to how I imagined other parents would react if they’d found out their only daughter was a drug addict or a most-wanted serial killer.
    I closed my eyes and tried to tune out thoughts of my parents as I swayed to the beat of the music. Mid-song, applause and cheers erupted from the front door, spreading through the small space like wildfire. Before I even had a chance to open my eyes, Maddie’s fist connected with my shoulder, nearly mowing me down.
    “ Holyfuckballs! ” she yelled over the music. “Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?”
    “Right now I’m seeing stars, Mads!” I replied, rubbing my throbbing shoulder. “What was that for?”
    She didn’t answer. Instead she grabbed Adam and me by our wrists and pulled us off the dance floor.
    “Do you guys believe in fate?”
    “No.” My answer, I was sure, covered my brother’s very scientific belief system as well.
    “Well I think this is going to change your mind!” she grabbed my head between her hands and physically twisted it in the direction of the small group assembled at the bar.
    And that’s when I saw him.
    Even amidst a group of at least ten perfectly sculpted athletes, Sawyer Carter was unmistakable. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was just a tiny bit more perfectly sculpted than the rest of the guys. Or maybe it was because he shone more brightly than any of the countless medals attached to his name. World Tours, X-Games—he had it all and everyone’s bet was on snowboarding savant Carter the Carver for Olympic Gold in 2014.
    But there was another reason I was able to immediately spot him. Knowing Sawyer was second nature to me. I had studied his face up close for nine long years, watching it change and develop as he turned from a boy into a young man. I had seen myself reflected in those light green eyes, and knew that they shone a unique amber color when the sun hit them at just the right angle.
    I was familiar with his effortless stride and the way his long, lean body moved and commanded everyone’s attention the moment he stepped into a room. Even