Free Dusk (Young Adult Paranormal Romance) by Amy Durham Page A

as a tidal wave. My stomach pitched and rolled, and every breath caused my chest to ache. Darting my eyes around the empty restroom I noticed the back corner, between the sink and the window, and decided it was the perfect spot.
    I slid my body into the corner and sank, dropping my backpack to the white tiled floor on the way down.
    My dad had slept with Courtney’s mom.
    Courtney’s mom who was a trashy, bed-hopping pill-popper.
    Somehow I’d thought he’d had better taste in women than that.
    Of course, when a guy decided to screw around on his wife, good judgment and taste went down the toilet.
    My brain snapped into action. Courtney could be lying. She and Nikki were just looking for a way to get back at me. It could all be fabricated.
    But how could she have known about the affair? Everyone knew my dad had died, but no one knew about the cheating. I hadn’t told anyone. Not even Viv.
    But I had told Adrian.
    No, no, no! Adrian would not do this to me. He would not hurt me this way.
    It was completely unfair that my dad wasn’t here for me to scream at. Every bit of this was his fault. All the questions, lies, embarrassment. All of it.
    God, Dad! You’ve totally ruined everything! I’m so messed up, so scared, so humiliated. You should be here so I could yell and scream and blame you. You should be here to help me with my math. You should be here so I could apologize for being so awful to you the last time we talked. You should be here.
    Fog seemed to fill the room, seeping into every available space and pressing into me as if it were alive. The air turned humid and a dank smell filled my nostrils. Through the murkiness, the hazy figure of my dad appeared. Leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, he watched me with something almost giddy in his eyes.
    My heart surged with an odd combination of joy and dread. Something was terribly wrong. How could he look happy while I sat in the floor of the school bathroom and grieved for him and all we’d lost?
    I thought of my dream, of the way he hadn’t even looked at me when he told me it was too late. Could it be that the damage could not be undone?
    “Daddy.” The whispered word scalded my throat as I said it. In those two syllables lived every fear, every regret, and every hope I possessed. Surely he would take pity on me.
    The laughter startled me. Wild and maniacal and unlike any sound I’d ever heard from my father. For a moment my mind couldn’t process it, couldn’t understand it. But then reality hit like a load of bricks crashing over me.
    He was laughing at me.
    He was amused by my misery.
    And I had no one to blame but myself.
    His figure faded then, and the last image I saw was of his delight at my self-destruction.
    The tears came then, and because I could not hold back any longer, I let them. I cried. And cried. And cried.
    *     *     *
    Adrian strolled into the girls’ bathroom like it was no big deal, and sat down beside me. I lifted my eyes to his, positive that I looked like a red raccoon. He said nothing. Just reached for me and pulled me into his lap.
    As his arms came around me I remembered the conversation I wanted to have with him, but now was not the time. I was devastated and he was here, not saying a word, not trying to fix things, not giving me unwanted advice. Just holding me, letting his warmth seep into me as the last few tears slid down my cheeks.
    His ability to comfort me was almost supernatural, and I wondered again about the visions I’d seen of him in my room. Whoever or whatever he was, I needed him.
    I’d figure out the rest later.

Chapter 14

    A drian walked me to the front office and told the secretary I wasn’t feeling well. Understatement of the year. She promptly called my mom to come and pick me up.
    As I took a seat in the waiting area, I realized I hadn’t said the first word to Adrian since he waltzed into the girls’ restroom.
    “Thanks,” I whispered, fixing my eyes on the speckled