Free Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones) by Celeste Buie

quickly.”
    “Benefit of the doubt.”
    I rolled my eyes because I knew her real motivation. “So what else did you ask him?” I asked.
    “Question: ‘What food could they not pay you enough to eat?’ His answer: ‘Shrimp. I hate the texture.’ Question: ‘Is there anyone or anything you cannot say no to?’ His answer: ‘Family and its obligations.’ Question: ‘What is the most annoying thing that someone could do to you?’ His answer: ‘Judge me. I mostly don’t care what people think.’ I followed up by asking him more about that answer since it’s a contradiction. He launched into this whole thing about how judging is different than making snap judgments about someone and that when you judge it’s based on actions and reactions, where snap judgments are unfounded. It was really moving. Anyway, question: ‘What deep, dark secret do you want to unload from your shoulders and share with the world?’ Answer: ‘If only that would remove the weight.’”
    I knew of a secret. I just didn’t know what it was or what it meant or how it impacted me.
    “He is so sexy,” she paused, probably hoping I’d agree with her out loud. “So that’s the juiciest I have to share. I didn’t get into too many personal questions because of my promise to you. I didn’t want to tempt myself.”
    “I appreciate that. Did you plan on coming over tonight?”
    “No, Jared’s coming by in a bit. Let’s do homework together tomorrow or the night after.”
    “Sounds good. See you at school.”
    I had an open evening so I decided to take Roxie for a walk. As I laced my running shoes, she sat patiently by, and I thought back to the first time I had seen her sitting quietly in the kennel. It had been a total madhouse, with all the other dogs barking and vying for attention.
    It didn’t take much convincing on my part for my parents to adopt her five years ago. They liked the idea of having her around as a protector. Her size alone was a deterrent. But she was really a mellow girl unless a stranger approached the house. We weren’t sure of her breed, but we thought she was a mix between a Lab and a Great Dane because of her build and her white and tan short hair.
    I did my best to take her for walks every day, usually after school but sometimes before.
    We took our usual route around the outside of the sub, then cut through the middle to the park.
    It was about halfway through the park when I sensed someone close to me. I glanced around. We were alone, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t. It felt like someone was hovering over me. The feeling stayed with me the remainder of the walk. I didn’t feel scared—and I couldn’t decide if that was because it was still daylight or I didn’t feel in danger. Still, it was a different feeling than when neighbors looked out their living room windows to see why their dogs barked. It stayed with me past each house, as if it were following me.
    When I unlocked the front door, the feeling left.
    I grabbed a bottle of water and pulled out my history notebook to review for the quiz tomorrow.
    It didn’t take long for my notes to blur. I couldn’t concentrate enough to retain the crucial dates and facts. It was especially frustrating since I realized early that the questions were pulled directly from the notes. I was set as long as I took notes each day and reviewed them. But my mind jumped from thought to thought.
    I hadn’t had the dream with the guy in the shadows in a while. My dream guy stopped arriving after I touched his hand, even though that was what he seemed to want all along. What was the point of it all if he disappeared after? Then Landon enrolled at my school and chose
my
friends to buddy up to. He knew I suspected him of being involved in whatever Trevor was involved in.
Then
the weird feeling while walking Roxie. I didn’t feel crazy, but I wondered if people who are crazy acknowledge that they feel crazy. I didn’t particularly consider myself a