Free To Fall (The To Fall Trilogy Book 1) by Donna AnnMarie Smith Page B

everything in our path. I didn’t have the strength or endurance to stop him each time. I should have known better and left him at home. Bozo’s body tensed with his nose in the air, signaling me he was onto something. Before I could yank him back, he pulled hard on the leash and I stumbled forward. My eyes caught what had his attention—a quail sprinted in front of us. Bozo jerked against the leash again; I planted my feet and held my ground.
    Bozo flipped his body backward, the collar slipped off, and the leash went slack. I groaned. I guess he could be smart when he wanted to be. I was going to have to go after him because if Bozo ran back into the neighborhood, a car could hit him. I was already winded from the exercise and the heat, but he wasn’t too far away. Twenty feet? I could catch him.
    A slight jog ought to do it. I was close to grabbing his scruff, but he sprinted off again, another twenty feet away. My heart pounded behind my chest wall and my breaths came hard and fast. The hot air was harsh in my throat.
    Pushing myself to close the distance, my legs moved faster this time. A few feet from Bozo, tightness clamped around my heart and a chill ran through my limbs. I was in trouble. Clutching my chest, I could only swallow shallow puffs, lungs burning for a full breath. My legs wobbled beneath me, hands tingled, and pain screamed through as though a saguaro landed on my heart.
    My knees and hands hit the hard dirt, and rough gravel dug into my flesh. Moving my hand to my pocket, I cursed. No cell phone. I should try to get to the street so someone could help me, but my body was failing.
    Gripping my pill bottle, my eyesight blurred and focus would have been awesome right now, because I couldn’t feel my fingers to lift the plastic lid.
    I needed help like yesterday, but I couldn’t muster air to scream. The lub-dub of my heart slowed in my ears. Pain became my focus. What did I have to do again? Whatever was holding me up, gave way. The ground rushed toward me, my shoulder and head hit the hard dirt, and my sunglasses flew off. A plume of dust mixed with the blinding light of the sun filtered over me, and I let my eyes close.
    I awoke to a weightless feeling, my body swayed, warm skin embraced mine, and the scent of clouds enveloped me. Blinking, the searing sun filled my vision.
    “Welcome back.” My heart raced again to the low, husky voice.

11
    Xander
     
    I was an ass. I didn’t know how not to screw up around this girl. She turned me into an utter moron. She was just a human. One of billions. So why was it every time I was around her, my head felt a little fuzzier, my heart sped up, and weird things happened to my stomach? Because she’s not just any girl.
    She called me “Xander.” I had been called Alexander since Creation, never anything else. I liked it and it surprised me how much. It was silly, only an omission of three letters, but it made me feel special. Special to her. She saw me as…a human.
    After beating my head against the mountain for saying that one word finally , I went home .
    I shouldn’t have said it. I should have wiped her memory of me, but when her eyes met mine, I couldn’t let her forget me. I couldn’t take this memory away from her. So instead, I made an ass out of myself and I didn’t stop there. I kept doing it.
    Monday morning, before the sun rose, the alarm on my cell phone chimed. It was under my pillow, muffled so my siblings wouldn’t hear it. After a shower, I slipped into running clothes. Reaching the kitchen, I abandoned my stealthy pace, sensing Caleb.
    “Good morning, Brother!” Caleb grinned over the mixing bowl, ready to make omelets. “Ham and cheese?” he asked.
    “Yes, please. I had resigned myself to cold cereal. A hot meal sounds much better.”
    He shrugged and hair fell across his brow. Wait…Caleb’s hair didn’t move . He rushed out of his room . He knows something is off with me . “I wanted to make sure I had a full meal before