Page 23 of Visions & Shadows

“Okay,” I lie because I have no idea whether Ryan’s into parties. “Do your parents know about the party?”

“Of course not,” she chuckles.

“Did you tell Stephen?”

She shrugs. “You know he doesn’t care about what we do as long as we don’t burn down the house.”

Shaking my head, I walk back to my bedroom and quickly get ready for the day. After shrugging on one of my favorite jackets, I grab my bagand head out of the house.

The moment I step onto the porch, the winter chill hits me, and I quickly wrap my arms around my middle.

Once I’m done with school I’m moving to a warmer place.

My thoughts turn to the nightmare I had, which was really unsettling after dreaming about the waterfall the past two weeks.

The disaster and danger felt so real.

I’ve only managed to walk to the stop sign when a familiar truck pulls up to the curb beside me.

“Morning. Need a ride?” Ryan asks, looking way too hot first thing in the morning.

Can’t say no to my friend, now can I?

“Sure.” Climbing into the truck, I smile at him. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t know you walked to school. I can pick you up and take you home after school.”

It doesn’t sound like he’s asking me. It sounds more like he’s already made up his mind.

“I usually ride with Molly, but I was late, so…yeah, you don’t need to go out of your way.”

As he starts to drive again, he says, “It’s not out of my way.”

I’ll get to spend more time with him.

“Okay. Sure. That would be great.”

A smile lifts the corner of his mouth, and he looks more than pleased that I agreed.

“Are you warm enough?” he asks.

“Yeah, thanks.”

During the drive to school, I remember the day before and how nice it was to hang out with him. Nothing weird happened, and I can actually see us becoming good friends.

Warmth trickles into my chest at the thought of having a friend, and a happy grin spreads over my face.

After parking in his usual spot, we walk across the stretch of grass to the entrance.

Together.

Of course, everyone notices. Ryan moving to our small town and picking me as his friend will be front-page news for quite a while.

I can hear the other students’ whispers and how they’re laughing because they think it’s insane that Ryan’s showing any kind of interest in me.

They can all go to hell. If Ryan doesn’t care, then I’m not wasting my time with them, either.

Ryan clears his throat next to me, ripping me out of my thoughts. When I glance up at his face, he looks deep in thought, and I wonder what he’s thinking about.

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