Free Don't Fall by Rachel Schieffelbein Page A

There were pictures of her and her husband together in the articles. He looked like a nice guy, but you could already tell they weren’t going to make it. They weren’t holding each other, or touching at all in any of the pictures. By the time she adopted me, she was single. It’s been just me and her ever since.” She leaned back and looked at me. “So, I understand why she’s so over-protective. I do my best to make her not worry.”
    “Yeah, I get that.” I tried to process everything she told me. Tried to imagine losing one of my brothers or sisters. How it would affect me, my parents.
    “It’s strange. It’s kind of like I have this sister I’ve never met.” Her lips lifted in a sad, fake smile. “And there’s this sibling rivalry, which is just crazy, because there’s only me.” Her voice was so soft I could hardly hear her. I ran my hand up and down her arm in an attempt to be comforting. “Only me. Sometimes I’m not sure that’s enough.” Her voice cracked, and I held her tight against me. There was nothing I could say, so I just held her.
     
    Anya
     
    It felt good in Zander’s arms. Comfortable. Too comfortable, since I started spouting off things I should never have said. But he held me and didn’t say I was crazy, or horrible and selfish and awful to be worried about competing with a dead girl.
    He kissed my forehead, which was sweet, but not nearly enough, not after I’d tasted his lips. I leaned up on my elbow and bent over him, trying to convey with my eyes just how much I wanted him to kiss me. He stroked my cheek, and I leaned into his palm. Then he slid his hand behind my head and gently drew me forward.
    There was no fantasy I’d ever dreamed up that was more perfect than kissing Zander. His lips were soft, and so were his kisses. But I leaned down into him, wanting more. We kissed in the cool grass, with the stars spying.
    His hands pressed into my back, holding me close. His face was rough, in need of a shave, and his chin rubbed against my skin. I didn’t mind. His lips were smooth and warm, and we didn’t stop until the sky started to lighten. Not wanting to be caught by the sun, or my mom, we broke apart and raced hand in hand back to my house.
    Right before I stepped into my yard, he tugged me back and kissed me one last time. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered into my ear. All I could do was grin. I forced my body to push away from him, dashed to the back door, slipped inside, and tiptoed to my room. My whole face was one huge smile. I was going to have to find some way to wipe it off before breakfast or my mom was really going to wonder what was wrong with me.
    Before I fell into bed, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Grass stuck in my braids, and my cheeks were flushed. Since there was no way I was going to be able to sleep anyway, I grabbed my brush and undid my braids. I brushed out the grass and watched it fall to the floor, reliving the evening in my mind over and over again.
    Eventually exhaustion caught up with me, and I had to fight to keep my eyes open and my mind focused. I re-braided my wild, long hair and cleaned up the mess, the only clue about what had happened, before falling into bed. It was still very early, and I would be able to get a couple hours of sleep before my mom woke me up, singing good morning songs to start the day.
    Sunday and Monday were teeny tiny snails moving oh so slowly toward Tuesday. Never have two days been more painstakingly long and hard to endure. I edited the pictures of Baby Cakes on my computer and let the mental pictures from the woods play in my brain. Finally Tuesday came, and I met Zander in front of the library.
    “Hello, gorgeous,” he said, kissing my cheek. “To Baby Cakes?”
    “Library first. Shannon called yesterday to tell me a book I’ve been waiting for forever is finally in, and I can’t wait another second.”
    He laughed, but swung open the door for me. He browsed the fiction aisle while I