Free Hidden (Hidden Series Book One) by M. Lathan Page B

practice magic now, but if I
didn’t relax about the little things, I’d be apologizing all day
for the rest of my life. And if I could make it through this week
without seeing Lydia Shaw, that life could be longer than I’d ever
imagined.
    It was warm enough outside for a swim, but
randomly splashing around in a pool would be pushing the whole
positive me thing too far.
    I treaded through the grass to the front of
the house. Huge columns stretched all the way up to the third
floor, my floor – that was really just two peaks with shutters. My
room and the locked one, I guessed.
    When there was nothing left to see but more
of the neat lawn and the gate I wouldn’t dare go out of, I went
back into the kitchen and cleaned my dish. I didn’t have chores,
but I didn’t want to make them clean up after me.
    “Morning.”
    I spun around spastically to Nathan. “Hi,” I
said. I rolled my eyes at myself when I turned back to the sink. I
peaked over my shoulder as he rummaged through the pantry and
pulled out a box of cereal.
    “Last night was fun,” he said, pulling milk
from the fridge. I didn’t know why I was surprised he’d brought it
up. Maybe because I hadn’t spent time with him exactly.
“Were you on the track team at your school or something?”
    “No.”
    “Could’ve fooled me.” His cereal dinged
inside the glass bowl in the silence. “You’re not planning to tell
anyone I actually like playing fetch, are you?”
    “No.” I was about to stop there, but we’d
chased each other for almost two hours while I not so quietly
cried, so I added, “Not if you’re not planning on telling anyone
about the tears.”
    “Deal. I decided not to go out with them
because I was terrified to disobey Sophia. I didn’t want to sit in
my room all alone, so I wrote you a note and came as … you
know.”
    “Why? Why not as you, I mean?” I asked as I
stared out of the window over the sink. I realized I was being
creepy, so I turned around and gave my best impression of
normal.
    He sat at the island and dug into his
cereal. “You seemed shy. I thought you’d feel less threatened if
you didn’t have to worry about talking to me.” He sighed and
smiled. “And … I really wanted to play, which is the opposite of
how I’m supposed to feel about being an animal. It’s not like being
a witch. It’s not as cool. Technically, I’m classified as a
beast.”
    His mouth froze, lips still twisted in a
smile, but sadness lurked there now. So slightly, a normal person
probably wouldn’t have seen it. Like depressed eyes could detect
depressed things.
    I left the counter and sat two chairs over
from him, ready to attempt something I’d never been able to do –
have a conversation without awkward pauses. I borrowed Sophia’s
tone and words, imitating someone who wasn’t terrible at this.
    “Sophia says who you are has nothing to do
with magic,” I said, my voice shaking. I pushed through the
jitters. “Just because someone thinks the kind of … thing you are is bad, doesn’t mean you are.” I didn’t intend to sound
sad, but it came out as heavily as it had been weighing on me.
    “You’re right. You have to have your own
opinion. I like shifting ... after I got over the initial shock,
anyway. I didn’t think any of this existed still until I woke up
with paws one day last year,” he said.
    “Really?” I asked, genuinely interested. He
nodded. “Me too. Well, not last year and not paws, but still. Your
parents didn’t tell you?”
    “That’s complicated, but the people I know
as my parents have no idea. I figured they’d turn me in, so I just
took off.”
    He swirled his spoon around the bowl,
twisting his mouth to the side. His eyes were sad. I wanted to
reach my hand to his face to cheer him up, but it wasn’t the right
time to pet him. Wasn’t the right him to pet.
    “I’m sorry,” I said instead.
    “No big. I heard on the news yesterday that
your parents died in the war. Did they really? Just