Free Rite of Rejection (Acceptance Book 1) by Sarah Negovetich

matters if I sleep in the same place, but it’s the closest thing I have to a home base at the moment.
    “Tell me about home.” Eric’s words startle me in the silence and I trip over a broken crate half buried in the dirt. I’m inches from hitting the ground when strong arms grab me around the waist and pull me back to my feet. “All right, then. Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.” Eric still has his hands around me and his breath on the back of my neck makes all the little hairs there stand on end. I’ve never been this close to a boy before. I like it, and I’m terrified. What in the blazes am I supposed to do now? I lean over to brush a fine layer of dust off my skirt and Eric steps back a few paces.
    When I turn around, Eric is still looking at me, but there’s a trace of disappointment in his gaze. Eric telling Elizabeth we’re practically engaged rings in my ears. I did see him as a potential suitor back before the ceremony, but so much has changed in just one day. Can he really still see me that way?
    I always thought falling in love would be easy. Add this to the list of things I can’t manage. What I wouldn’t give to have Cheryl here right now. She’d know exactly what to say. ‘Stop being so nervous. This isn’t a test on afternoon-tea etiquette. Just be yourself.’ I can do that. “There isn’t much to tell.”
    “Much to tell about what?”
    “About home.” I take a deep breath and hold out my hand to him. It’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done and I’m completely exposed, standing there waiting for him to join me.
    Eric hesitates for only a fraction of a second, then takes my hand. I’m rewarded with a smile that’s becoming both familiar and comforting.
    “I’m glad you found your way back to us today.” Eric pulls me around a pile of discarded rubbish into yet another alley. “Of course, I wish we were reuniting under different circumstances.”
    “Me, too. I don’t want to think about where I might be right now if Daniel hadn’t found me.” I smile up at him, but Eric is staring off into the distance.
    He doesn’t respond to my comment. Did I say something wrong? My mother is right; I’m not very good at knowing how to act in social situations.
    “You don’t have to worry about Daniel protecting you.”
    “What?”
    “I’m just saying it was nice of Daniel to rescue you, but you have me to take care of you now.” Eric squeezes my hand.
    I squeeze back. This isn’t so hard. Eric just wants to protect me, and clearly I need it. “Do you think you could take care of this test?”
    “If by ‘take care of’, you mean, ‘make go away’, no. Once Elizabeth gets an idea into her head, there’s no stopping her.”
    I use my free hand to massage my temple where a headache threatens to take over. “That’s what I thought.”
    “Don’t be nervous.”
    “Easy for you to say. You get an auto-pass since you’re Elizabeth’s brother.” He has the good sense not to argue the point. “She’ll probably want me to spin silk out of spiderwebs before I’m allowed to eat another meal with you guys.”
    “Come on, she’s not that bad.”
    “To you, maybe, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that she likes me about as much as a hole in a new pair of gloves.”
    “Elizabeth was never a fan of gloves.”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “Yes, but I also know Elizabeth. She’s just a little overprotective. If she didn’t like you there wouldn’t be a test at all. Besides, I don’t think Daniel will let her get carried away.”
    “The two of them are close then?”
    “Elizabeth says adversity has a way of bonding people. They’ve been together since Daniel was Rejected.”
    “Oh.” The way he says “together” confirms my suspicion that Elizabeth and Daniel are more than just good friends. And it makes sense. If we weren’t in the PIT, they would be old enough to get married. Do people get married in the PIT?
    For the life of me I can’t picture Daniel and