Who is Mackie Spence? Read Online Free PDF

pale, and she trembles. This maybe isn’t a good time to ask her more questions. Still, after what I saw and heard tonight, I know she can come up with better answers.
    We finish putting the day’s used towels and linens in the washer, and are making some final notes on the daily Report Sheet when the next shift arrives.
    Mackie and I toss our hoods into the laundry basket and return our coveralls to the hanging pegs. After putting our goggles and gloves away, we walk out the front door. It closes behind us, with a self-locking click.
    Pausing outside, Mackie touches my arm. “Jeremy, could I ask you something?”
    â€œI have a flashlight and reflector to loan you . . .” She smiles down at the ground like there’s some inside joke.
    Then she looks back up, more serious, and asks, “Would you walk me home?”

CHAPTER 3
    That irritating sound, the buzz of my alarm clock next to my ear! Groaning, I reach for the off button. I was having the best dream ever, and want to stay in bed.
    Then I sit up, fast. It wasn’t a dream, or a fantasy. It actually happened. Yesterday. But, Ben will be in our driveway any minute. We have a cross-country race to run this morning.
    I dash into the bathroom between Justin’s and my room. It’s early, so brotherly competition for the facilities isn’t a problem. I slap cold water on my face and put on my tank, shorts, and school warmups. Picking up my gear bag, I smile, thinking about what happened the night before, after Mackie and I left the shelter. It began when she asked me to walk her home.
    â€œSure,” I said. Then I noticed she was shivering. “Mackie, here, put this on. Really, I don’t need it.”
    She slipped into my jacket and zipped it up. Mackie’s over a half-foot shorter than me, and my jacket hung almost to her knees. Then she reached over and put her left arm behind my back at my waist, resting her hand on my hip like it was something she did every day.
    To steady myself, I put my hand around her right shoulder. At that moment, I couldn’t think of any questions to ask her. I was speechless as we moved away from the building, walking in step with each other. My arm was around Mackie! She’d been my friend for years. But now she was grown-up Mackie, who spun my head around every time she walked near me.
    I handed her my flashlight and pulled out my reflector to give us more visibility, since it was a star-masked night.
    â€œWhat did Brody mean when he asked about your hanging out with me?” she asked.
    â€œWho knows?”
    â€œWhy do you think he went after Number 26?”
    â€œHe’s Mr. Adventure. Didn’t he mention that when you guys were together?”
    â€œBrody has a lot of problems,” she said.
    â€œLike more than drinking too much?” I asked.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œDid he ever do anything around you?”
    â€œHe asked me if I wanted to try something once. I didn’t.”
    We fell silent. Brody was trouble. But with Mackie next to me I didn’t want to talk about him. Her hair smelled like vanilla and oranges and her body warmth felt fantastic against me.
    When we arrived at her house, she turned toward me. “Will you wait while I tell Mom and Dad I’m home? We could sit on the porch for awhile.”
    Still stunned from the walk, I nodded obediently, like a third grader. I had a new numb feeling: a vacant spot where my brain seemed to have left my head.
    Mackie returned, handed me my jacket, and wrapped a red fleece blanket around herself. She motioned for me to sit next to her on the porch swing.
    I’d been on that porch hundreds of times since I was a kid, but never had my heart hammered so hard. Mackie took my hand in hers. Then she moved closer to me, so that her head rested on my shoulder. I reached up and brought my arm behind her neck, pulling her hair braid over her shoulder. Then I cupped the loose, silky ends of her hair.
    I