Stained Read Online Free PDF Page A

forth.
    â€œHey!” a voice shouts from the car. Brian’s voice.
    I peer through the sleet at his dark head poking out of the driver’s window. He’s getting wet.
    â€œAre you sure you’re all right?” Brian yells.
    â€œI’m fine,” I call. “Thank you.” I turn my bad cheek away from him. My heart beats faster.
    He pulls his car over to the side of the road and gets out, then stands there in the sleet looking at me, his tight brown curls flattening. With his broad shoulders and muscled chest, he looks almost like a superhero in disguise, Bruce Wayne in a suit.
    He clears his throat. “You sure you don’t want a lift? You’re getting soaked. And I don’t want to leave you stranded if you think those boys will come back.”
    My face heats up. I’ve been staring at him like a lovesick girl.
Get a grip, Sarah.
    I look around. The storm has scattered people, making this corner deserted. “I’m all right,” I say. “Really.”
    â€œListen, don’t let those idiots get to you, okay? Some people just don’t know how to behave. You know—the caveman syndrome.”
    I laugh. “I call it being a jerk.”
    â€œThat, too,” he says, nodding sagely. He rubs his neck, watching me intently. His curls are plastered to his skull now, yet he still looks handsome. “Your dad told me about your canceled treatments. I’m sorry. That must be rough, on top of everything else.”
    I shrug, trying to pretend like it’s nothing, but I can feel the misery pulling at my face. And I know he can see it, too, because something changes in his eyes. I curse myself. Because, really, losing my treatments is nothing compared to what Dad is going through. “How did it go with the police?” I ask quickly.
    â€œThey’re looking into it,” Brian says. He takes a step closer and rests his hands on his belt buckle. “But they don’t have any leads yet. I can fill you in on the drive back to your place.”
    He stands there, waiting.
    â€œThat’s okay,” I say. “Dad will tell me about it when he gets home.”
    â€œHe was pretty upset when we left. I’m not sure he heard anything the cops said. But I did. Let me take you home.”
    Something isn’t right. He’s pushing too hard to get me to ride with him. I hesitate.
    â€œYou know you can trust me.” Brian smiles, but there’s something almost animal-like in the way his lips curl back, and in the way his eyes watch me, like they’re tracking my movements, my reactions.
    The hair rises on the back of my neck. I take a step back, then another. “I have to get home.” I shouldn’t have stood here so long. I turn to run, sleet slicing into my eyes.
    Brian’s hand closes around my wrist, fingers digging into my skin. Something stings my arm, and then he jerks me back toward him.
    â€œLet me go!” I turn and kick him, but he grips me harder, yanking me forward. My backpack falls into a puddle.
    Oh, god.
My mind stutters, wanting to shut down. The sky spins around me, and suddenly I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. But I have to. I must. I can’t let him do this to me. I try to pull my arm out of his grasp, the way they showed us in that self-defense class Mom made me take, but my arms feel like rubber and they won’t do what I tell them to.
    I’ve got to get help
.
I reach into my coat for my cell phone, but my hand doesn’t seem connected to my body. I try again, and this time I pull my phone out.
    Brian knocks it from my hand. It clatters against the sidewalk, and he kicks it into the gutter.
    â€œHelp!” I shout, my voice sounding garbled, but there’s no one around to hear.
    Brian shoves his cold, wet cheek against mine, his after-shave burning my nostrils. And then something sharp pokes between my shoulder blades. “Don’t struggle. I wouldn’t want