The REASON Series - the Complete Collection Read Online Free PDF

colleges come after me, but the catch was, I was broke and couldn't afford their tuition. Besides, school wasn’t anywhere I needed to be. 
    It wasn't long after that SAT test that my mom suffered a severe stroke that left the right side of her body useless and put her in the mental state that she is in right now. The stroke was a blessing in disguise. It forced her to detox and sober up, but the flip side is that she can’t do much on her own and she’s forced to live in this home. But when you break it down, it’s better this way. 
    Better for me, or better for her? That is the question I always find myself trying to answer. The selfish side of me wants to say it's better for me that she’s here. Hell, even the non-selfish side of me says it is better for me. Having her here means she’s sober and not on the streets. Despite all the times I’ve been asked why I don’t just walk away, I still come here, thinking that maybe my presence brings her some sense of joy. Maybe one day I will find the strength to move on. But today is not that day.  
    I say my goodbyes, kiss her on the cheek and leave the facility. I need to get downtown and then be back at the diner by four.  

    The bus drops me off right across the street from Capella Tower. It's a beautiful building, sleek and modern with glass walls and a rounded rooftop. I cross at the crosswalk and head into the building. The entrance is huge, with stone floors and glass-domed ceiling. There is a large directory toward the back, and I head over to it.
    I've seen this building a hundred thousand times in the Minneapolis skyline, but this is the first time I’ve been inside. The elaborate decor makes me feel even poorer than usual, even more out of place.  
    I finally find MSB Enterprises. It’s on floors forty-two through fifty-two. There’s an asterisk next to level fifty and a note: All Visitors Please Report To Level 50 . Well, level fifty it is.  
    When I get to the bank of elevators, I see signs over several of them indicating which floors they go to. I push the up arrow next to the elevator labeled 42-52 .  
    Jeez, they even have their own elevator?  
    I shift nervously from foot to foot while I wait for the elevator to arrive, again conscious of being completely out of my element. When it comes, I can hear voices — male voices — on the inside.  
    "Oh, no," I breathe, and I slink away toward the back of the hallway, hoping the men will just exit and turn toward the entrance, away from me.  
    The doors open and six men file out. Five of them head toward the entryway. The sixth gentleman quickly slides past me toward the door at the end of the hallway. Thankfully, I don’t recognize any of them as Mr. Suit.  
    I duck into the elevator and look at the control panel. Above the buttons there’s a little sign that reads, Entry to floors 42-49 prohibited without a key card. Floors 51-52 only accessible from floor 50. Well, I guess I have no choice but to go to the fiftieth floor. I push the button and lean into the wall, wrapping my arms around my ribcage. After a few moments the elevator starts to chime as we pass every third floor past the twentieth. I watch the numbers rise by threes, wrapping my arms tighter around my chest, nerves taking over.  
    I regret coming here. I hadn’t thought this far ahead, and I don’t have a clue how to go about leaving this for him. Maybe there will be a receptionist I can leave the note with.  
    I suddenly have the urge to see him again, something I hadn’t expected. The image of Mikah looking down at me when I woke up from fainting yesterday pops back into my mind, and the urge to see him grows stronger. I look up to see what floor we’re on. Forty-one. Almost there.
    Ugh. It’s stupid of me to want to see him again. He’s everything I’m not, and I have no business thinking about him that way.
    "When was the last time you ate?" a male voice says from behind me.

SIX
    I jump, stop breathing and then try to