The Rift Read Online Free PDF Page B

fun. I loved going out dancing
with Henry, and the energy he and Tucker pulled from me with their
touching sessions and with the…other things we were doing, made me
act and feel a bit lightheaded and woozy anyway. I could hardly
explain all of that to Doctor Veronica, though. And, as much as I
wanted to fight her and tell her I didn’t need or want her therapy,
I knew I did. Even though my nightmares had stopped, I’d been
feeling afraid all the time and I wasn’t happy. I knew something
was wrong, and I was tired of feeling weak and helpless. Not that
it mattered whether I needed it or not, if I didn’t agree to go
along with her therapy I’d be on complete lockdown at Varius and
then I’d really lose my mind. I’d play along, but I’d be damned if
I’d tell her anything she didn’t already know. “Fine. I’ll do what
you ask, and I’ll go along with your therapy plan.”
    Her smile drooped and she studied me for a
long moment, probably trying to figure out why I’d conceded so
easily after months of resistance. I just gave her my best sweet,
innocent smile and shrugged.
    “Okay, then,” she said. “If it’s all right
with you, I’d like to start immediately. There’s a bedroom in the
back of the house that has been designated for our sessions. No one
will bother us there.”
    I followed her back to the bedroom where I
spent the next hour talking about and reliving all of the bad
things I’d seen in the past six months, starting with Landon, my
dead boss who’d tried to replace my soul with his own so that he
could live a second life in my body. When I emerged from that room,
I felt mentally exhausted and raw. I wasn’t at all sure I could
actually handle therapy.
     
    I was sitting on the porch with Henry,
rocking the afternoon away, my stomach full of a hearty lunch, when
Thad pulled up in a beat-up old truck. A little thrill of happiness
zinged through me when he smiled and waved, and I hurried down the
stairs to greet him properly, ignoring the slight tinge of pain in
my foot. Thad was the only one of my friends who’d had a good
excuse for not talking to me the last couple of months. He’d been
working, and I was pretty sure Yvonne had blocked any attempts at
communication between us.
    Thad leapt out of the truck, grabbed me up in
a big bear hug, and spun me around. I couldn’t help shrieking. He
laughed and set me down on my feet, then leaned in and kissed me
before I realized what he was doing. He pushed my mouth open gently
with his own and tried to deepen the kiss, but I shoved him
away.
    Henry was already off the porch and next to
us. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” he said in a wooden
tone. His attempt at sounding angry only made him sound like a
robot. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and
reminded myself to be serious. If anyone found out that Henry and I
weren’t a real couple they’d want to know why we were pretending,
and we hadn’t come up with a good answer to that question.
    Thad looked from me to Henry with raised
eyebrows. Henry was trying his best to look angry, but he just
looked slightly constipated. Thad’s attention moved from me and
Henry to a spot over my shoulder and his smile drooped but, when I
looked, no one was on the porch or in the doorway. We were alone,
and I wondered if Houston had shown himself to Thad, too. If
Houston had seen Thad’s kiss and Henry’s forced anger, he would
suspect something. I needed to fix that, but I wasn’t any better at
lying than Henry.
    “Um, Thad, this is my boyfriend, Henry. Henry
this is Thad.” I wrapped an arm around Henry’s waist and pulled him
close.
    Thad slapped Henry on the shoulder. “Sorry
about kissing your girl, man. I haven’t seen her in a while, and I
missed her.” The heat in his tone and in his eyes when he looked at
me made my belly flip-flop. “I didn’t know she had
a…boyfriend.”
    Henry let out a sigh of relief. He and I had
been pretending to be lovers for ten