Switched Read Online Free PDF Page B

idea had real merits. “You’ve never really fit in anywhere. You have a quick temper. You’re very intelligent and a picky eater. You hate shoes. Your hair, while lovely, is hard to control. You have dark brown eyes, dark brown hair.”
    “What does the color of my eyes have to do with anything?” I retorted, focusing on the things that I felt like I could disagree with. In fact, none of the things he said were all that conclusive.
    “Earth tones. Our eyes and hair are always earth tones,” Finn answered. “And often times, our skin has almost a greenish hue to it.”
    “I’m not green!” I looked at my skin anyway, just to be sure, but it didn’t look green.
    “It’s very faint, when people do have it,” Finn said. “But no, you don’t. Not really. Sometimes it gets more predominant after you’ve been living around other Trylle for awhile.”
    “I am not a troll,” I insisted fiercely. “That doesn’t even make any sense. It doesn’t… So I’m angry and different. Most teenagers feel that way. It doesn’t mean anything.” I combed through my hair, as if to prove it wasn’t that wild. My fingers got caught in it, proving his point rather than mine, and I sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
    “I’m not just guessing here, Wendy,” Finn informed with a wry smile. “I know who you are. I know you are Trylle. That’s why I came looking for you.”
    “You’re looking for me?” My jaw dropped. “That’s why you stare at me all the time in school. You’re stalking me!”
    “I’m not stalking ,” Finn looked at me defensively. “I’m a tracker. It’s my job. I find the changelings and bring them back.”
    Of all the major things that were wrong with this situation, the thing that bothered me the most is when he said it was his job. There hadn’t ever been any attraction between us. He had just been doing his job, and that meant following me.
    He was stalking me, and I was only upset about it because he was doing it because he had to, not because he wanted to.
    “I know this is a lot to take in,” Finn admitted. “I’m sorry. We usually wait until you’re older. But if you’re already using persuasion, then I think you need to head back to the compound. You’re developing early.”
    “I’m what?” I just stared up at him.
    “Developing. The psychokinesis,” Finn said as if it should be obvious. “Trylle have varying degrees of abilities. Yours are clearly more advanced.”
    “They have abilities ?” I swallowed “Do you have abilities?” Something new occurred to me, twisting my insides. “Can you read my mind?”
    “No, I can’t read minds.”
    “Are you lying?”
    “I won’t lie to you,” Finn promised.
    If he hadn’t been so attractive standing in front of me in my bedroom, it would’ve been easier to ignore him in the first place. If I hadn’t felt this ludicrous connection with him, I would’ve thrown him out right away.
    As it was, it was hard to look into his eyes and not believe him. But after everything he had been saying, I couldn’t believe him. If I believed him, that meant my mother was right. That meant that I was evil and a monster, and I didn’t want to be. I had spent my whole life trying to prove her wrong, trying to be good and do the right things, and I wouldn’t let this be true
    “I can’t believe you.”
    “Wendy,” Finn sounded exasperated. “You know I’m not lying.”
    “I do,” I nodded. “After what I went through with my mother, I’m not ready to let another crazy person into my life. So you have to go.”
    “Wendy!” He was in complete disbelief.
    “Did you really expect any other reaction from me?” I stood up, keeping my arms crossed firmly in front of me, and I tried to look as confident as I possibly could. “Did you think you could treat me like shit at a dance, then sneak into my room in the middle of the night and tell me that I’m a troll with magical powers, and I’d just be like, yeah, that