The Fragile Fall Read Online Free PDF Page A

a point, he exclaimed some kind of curse word and laughed like he just won a war singlehandedly. I lost the first game but won the next two. I was better at hiding and not giving away my hiding spot since I didn’t feel the need to gloat every time I scored a point.
    When we were done, Jax slapped me on the back and invited me over to his house to play video games. It was different playing video games with someone in the same room as we bantered back and forth, trash talking each other’s moves.
    After spending the day hanging out with Jax, my wariness with him disappeared. He had been nice and a ton of fun to hang out with. Between his honesty when he came over in the morning, and the fact that he didn’t make fun of me all day and treated me normally, I realized that we could have a real friendship. It felt good to have a genuine friend.

    Over the next week, Jax and I hung out almost every day. I found out what it was to be a normal teenager, hanging out with friends and goofing off. I was still more reserved than Jax, but I was slowly relaxing. We’d sit in his room and listen to music as he filled me in about what to expect at Fairfax High School. Other times we’d get in his truck and drive around endlessly, usually ending up at a movie or laser tag. It was strange not having every moment structured and being able to make my own decisions, but Aunt Liv didn’t care what I did as long as I was home by midnight, though she often told me to forget my curfew because she was so happy I was out of the house.
    I felt like a teenager for the first time, a feeling I could easily get used to.

    Friday afternoon had arrived and I was just crawling out of bed after a late night hanging out with Jax and Ryanne. We had hung out at their house, swimming in their pool which led to an epic water fight. At one point, I worried there was more water being emptied out of the pool than was left inside. We finally had to call it a night when the neighbor on the other side of Ryanne came over and cussed us out. I went home and collapsed into bed. My whole body was sore from throwing buckets of water over Ry and Jax and from laughing. I now knew what it felt like to have a good time.
    Something changed between Ry and me last night. We were constantly watching each other, and I kept finding excuses to touch her. I had no idea where my boldness was coming from, but I couldn’t stop it. Even stranger was that Ry seemed to be having the same problem. At one point, she rested her hand on my arm and didn’t move it away. When I looked at her, she quickly moved it then smiled. Jax seemed to get annoyed, putting himself between Ry and me, and when I caught him shooting her a dirty glance, she’d immediately backed off and kept her distance for the rest of the night.
    Aunt Liv was reading a book at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee when I finally made it downstairs. Since I had been spending more time with Jax and Ryanne, she seemed less worried, and I was sure she was relieved I was no longer locked in my room day after day. She smiled when she saw me pour myself a cup of coffee. I was never allowed to have coffee back home. In fact, coffee wasn’t kept in the house at all. Aunt Liv had introduced me to it shortly after I moved in with her and I discovered I loved it. I poured some cereal before falling into a chair.
    “Have a good night?” she asked, smiling.
    “Yeah.”
    “I could hear you guys in the pool until after midnight.”
    “Jax and I declared war on Ry, which ended up into a free-for-all.”
    “I’m glad.” She watched me as I ate my cereal and drank my coffee. Her eyes had a lightness in them that I hadn’t seen since I’d moved in. I was glad I wasn’t a source of worry any longer.
    The doorbell rang, and Aunt Liv’s brows scrunched together. “Who could that be?” She got up and smiled as she opened the door. “Hi, Jax.”
    “Hey, Liv. Is Will home?”
    “Sure, come on in. He’s in the kitchen.” Aunt Liv