Free Krysta's Curse by Tara West Page B

signs?”
    “Yeah!” she squealed.
    Above us, Ed and Gertrude hooted and
hollered in approval.
    As I looked at their beaming faces, the
edges of my lips tilted up in a forced smile and I tried to look
enthused.
    “Super,” I spoke through clenched teeth.
    Why couldn’t I just shrink into the carpet?
    The news media meant lots of exposure and
that was the last thing I wanted. I was hoping I could just quietly
stop this thing. Maybe walk into the developers’ office with an
official notice and be done with it. I didn’t want television
cameras and reporters asking questions.
    The kids at Greenwood wouldn’t just think I
was a total weirdo; they’d hate me, too.
    I should have known this would happen either
way. I mean, my life was doomed to suck.

Chapter Ten
    “Bryon, the
test’s in two days. Are you ready?”
    “I will be.” Turning his pale eyes on me, he
smiled faintly before that glazed-over look returned. Slightly
rocking from side to side on the tall kitchen barstool, he toyed
with his pen while looking somewhere off in the distance.
    There he goes again.
    My science partner was off in space. After
nearly an hour, we’d only gone through the first ten elements. I’d
thought having a partner was supposed to make studying easier. He
kept staring at the wall or his refrigerator, zoning out by the
time we reached neon.
    Studying in his house was distracting enough
without him adding to it. While we sat in a room as large as my
entire apartment, the housekeeper would barge in every five
minutes. She swept under the table twice and offered us soda and
cookies at least five times.
    She was more like a babysitter than a
housesitter, spying on the teenagers to make sure we weren’t making
out on the table.
    As if.
    He was more turned on by a fly on the wall
than by me.
    Oh, yeah, and that plate of cookies he’d
demolished in about five minutes.
    “How are you going to memorize all the
elements in two days if you’re too busy watching the paint
peel?”
    He turned his gaze on me again, his cool
orbs narrowing. “Why do girls hook up with guys like him?”
    “What?” I blurted.
    Face hardening, he jutted his chin. “Why did
Sunny go out with him?”
    “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Low
self-esteem, I guess.”
    Talking about Sunny was the last thing I
wanted to do now. I only thought about her every other minute. How
could I erase her empty, agonized expression from my brain? Bryon
was bringing up memories I was trying hard to forget, at least
until this science test was over.
    Jabbing his finger at me, he raised his
voice. “Don’t ever do something that stupid.” The anger in his eyes
was tangible, as if someone had lit a fire in his brain and steam
was shooting out of his eye sockets.
    What the heck?
    Was he adding stupid to my growing list of
flaws?
    “Are you my parent now?” I snapped.
    He jerked back, as if struck by verbal
lightning. His eyes shot open and his mouth fell; for the briefest
of seconds, he looked…hurt.
    Bryon was sending all kinds of signals.
    And guys say girls are confusing.
    “No.” His denial was barely audible.
    My heart plunged. I instinctively reached
out and squeezed his hand.
    With a soft smile, he turned his hand inward
and cupped my palm. The feel of his warm skin on mine was electric,
like thousands of tiny little buzzing bugs were tickling my
palm.
    I didn’t have much experience with the
opposite sex. Keeping up with the latest fashion and celebrity news
was practically a full-time job. Who had time for guys? But I had
to believe his electrifying touch meant something.
    Clearing my throat, I tried to speak through
a shaky voice. “This is really bothering you, isn’t it?”
    “Why wouldn’t it?” Dipping his chin, his
gaze focused on our joined hands before he tilted his head back up
and batted long, pale lashes. “Not all guys are pigs.”
    He squeezed my hand tighter, a faint smile
playing on his lips.
    That’s when the pain hit my chest. I