Unbreakable Rules (Too Many Rules Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

gotten into a serious knockdown, scratch your eyes out fight. Have I told you how much I hate the dark?
    My body slowly adjusted. My heart rate returned to some kind of normal and my palms stopped sweating enough for me to wipe them on my jeans. Opening my eyes into a squint, I could see a dark, vague shape behind the light. I assumed it was Ryan. If not, I was screwed.
    He was taller than I remembered, but then, I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about Ryan Hardy. Although, he was quickly moving up on my list of favorite people.
    "Uh ... Um .... A ... You're not Mrs. Thompson," he said from the dark.
    Yes, that was Ryan Hardy. Relaxing, I smiled to myself. That familiar shy stutter was one of the greatest things I had ever heard.
    "No, she's my grandmother, I'm house-sitting."
    "Um ... Grandmother? I didn't know."
    "Yeh, well my mother and Nana don't really get along. They're traveling together to my aunt's. I think they're both hoping to bury the hatchet." Why was I rambling? Fear did that to me. Brantley chooses that moment to switch allegiances, rushing past me to lean against the stranger at the door.
    "Hi Brantley," Ryan said as he leaned down to pet him, giving the dog a tight hug around the neck. I could hear the smile in his voice. Why didn't the dog rate a stutter?
    A brief pang of regret passed through me. This virtual stranger knew my grandmother and her dog better than I did. It didn't seem fair. One more thing to hold against my mother and her controlling ways. Why did she have to be like that? I wondered for the three-thousandth time.
    "Can I borrow your light?" I asked. "I don't know where my Grandmother keeps her candles. I could use a hand finding them."
    "Uh ... Sure," he answered. Looking at me like I'd just asked him to attack Hell armed only with a bucket of water.
    I opened the door wider so that he could come in. A brief second thought passed through my mind. But, this was Ryan Hardy. The school’s chief nerd. Everything should be all right I assured myself. I mean, he'd never given off a creepy vibe. Not like a lot of the guys at school who couldn't seem to keep their eyes focused above your neck.
    Ryan had always been into his own thing. You know. The kind of person who wasn't worried about the high school social scene and where he fit in. I envied him that. After today's fiasco, the social scene of Everton High School was looking a lot dumber by the minute.
    "Let's try the kitchen first," he said as he hurried past me. Obviously, he'd been here before, many times, probably. That jealous envy returned. Had he and Nana shared stories? Had she offered him advice? He'd probably been able to talk to her about his parents and how screwed up they were. Sitting at her kitchen table, eating her homemade cookies. Nana would like someone like Ryan Hardy.
    Using his precious light, he started going through drawers and cabinets looking for candles. He seemed to be in a hurry, his hands moving quickly through each drawer.
    While I appreciated it, it made me think that he couldn't wait to get out of there. He probably needs to get back to his own family. You're not the center of his universe, I reminded myself
    Standing in the middle of the darkened room I held my breath. I wasn't going to feel normal until I had some kind of light of my own.
    Finding a pack of matches, he laid them on the counter. I immediately snatched them up and ran my fingers across the inside. At least fourteen matches.
    "Nothing," Ryan said before moving into the dining room.
    He uttered the same pronouncement in each room. What kind of grandmother leaves her granddaughter in a house without candles or flashlights?
    Fourteen matches, that's all the woman possessed? How is it possible in today's world to exist without flashlights, candles, or lanterns? She didn't even have those sweet smelling candles from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Not even a box of birthday candles.
    "I ... uh ... Don't think she has any," Ryan said with a quick shoulder