Free Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector #1) by Cecilia Robert

bread, and chomp an enormous chunk from it.
    “You’re the only person in the world I know who eats that.” She points at my bread. “Peanuts, lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes?”
    I swallow, then say, “You forgot cayenne pepper. Yum.” I take another bite and close my eyes for emphasis. They flip open at her sound of disgust.
    She shakes her head, and her ponytail bobs with the movement. “I pity your stomach.” I chuckle and watch her unwrap her sandwich from its plastic bag. Her lips pull down as she glares at it. Her neon green and pink nail polished fingers pluck onions from her chicken sandwich. “I’m never letting Dad make me a sandwich again.” Finally she beams at me, waving her onion-free sandwich in victory and bites a mouthful. She swallows, then says, “You’ve been sulking since you stepped in class today. You two lovebirds doing all right? Rolf couldn’t take his eyes off you in class, and you couldn’t pull your gaze away fast enough.”
    And there lies the reason why I feel as though my head has gone through some major pummelling. I wrinkle my nose. “We’re okay.” She snorts, and I shoot her a glare. Unperturbed, she raises her eyebrows at me. I sigh. If only I had the power to hypnotise or make people forget stuff. I’d make her forget she asked about Rolf and me. “Fine. We argued. And I’m not sulking.”
    “Ah, but you are sulking, my friend. You look like a puppy someone kicked in the ribs. Want to talk about what happened yesterday during PE?”
    The sight of my bread is no longer appetizing. “Not really.” After spending half of last night going over what happened with Rolf in the field, I had every intention of discussing the issue with him. When I stepped through the class door and saw him sitting in his usual place two desks behind mine, his eyes the intensity of a lion eyeing its prey, I couldn’t face him. It was a mistake to overanalyse what had happened, but I couldn’t help it. So here I am, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. Maybe I could skip the rest of my lessons and go home to catch up on much needed sleep.
    After shoving the rest of my snack back inside the box, I wipe my hands and mouth with a paper towel, then face Lea. “Hey, would you like to meet up today after my teaching class? Around five-ish? Just me and you?” Would be nice to spend more time with Lea before she heads to Florence for summer vacation. It will be just like old times. No deal with Grim hanging over my head. No boyfriend problems.
    Lea studies me for a few seconds. “Sure. Rein has a photography gig today anyway.” Thank God she doesn’t pursue the subject. One of the many things I love about my best friend. “Did you know his dad lost his job?”
    “He did? When?” Where have I been? Gosh, have I been so focused on my own life that I failed to notice what was happening around me?
    “Last Thursday.” Eyes on her lap, she folds the sandwich bag into a tiny square. “Might take a while before he gets another job, if ever.”
    “But he didn’t mention it on Saturday.” Are we drifting apart, Reiner and I? God I hope not. Leaning down, I snatch a daisy from the grass and twirl it in my fingers.
    Lea presses my hand lightly. I tear my gaze from the flower to meet hers. “It’s not that he didn’t want to tell you. He didn’t want to worry you. Not when you were already going through stuff with your parents.”
    The queasy feeling in my chest fizzles and fades. Reiner and I aren’t drifting apart. I smile at Lea. “Thanks for telling me. For a moment I thought, well, I was a little… worried.”
    “Don’t be.” She pulls her hand away and fiddles with the sandwich bag, her eyebrows pulled down. “I’m scared he’s pushing himself too hard. I offered to loan some of what I earned from restoring the portrait at my last job. You can imagine his reaction.”
    Oh, I can imagine. Reiner believes in solving his own problems. “Hey, look at me, Lea.” She does. My heart