Free The Heart-Shaped Emblor (The Ewlishash Series) by Alaina Ewing

to see who had spoken, but there was no one. A strange charge lingered in the air, like when lightning strikes and you can still feel the residue. My arms tingled in response, and I rubbed them.
    Unnerved by the experience, I decided to move. Spying had already occupied too much of my time, and I wanted no more. My legs felt too numb to budge, making me hesitate.
    No matter which way I looked at it, I knew there was something more to Cooper and Jaden. It was obvious. But did that mean I had to stand by and be miserable?
    Mr. Wellner walked up behind me and pulled me from my funk. “Aislinn, you look upset. Is everything okay?”
    I turned to him, stunned by his observation. Had I been that obvious? My confidence wavered as I spoke. “I’m all right.”
    Mr. Wellner frowned. “You don’t have to lie to me. I can see you’re upset that Cooper is talking to Jaden. Why don’t you join them?”
    “Join them?” My shock at his suggestion came out as a gasp. “No… I couldn’t. Far too much has gone on between us all.” Mr. Wellner’s insight into my love life was unsettling.
    “Of course you can,” he insisted. “You’re a very strong person. Never doubt your abilities.” He nudged me in their direction. “Now go. Be brave. Things only happen when we desire them to. So there is no need to worry.”
    Mr. Wellner had never spoken like that before. I wondered if I had missed something, or if I was just losing my mind. I shook it off and headed toward Cooper and Jaden.
    By the time I reached them, Jaden had already seen me coming. She shied back instantly, leaning into the wall, and stopped talking. Cooper began questioning her about what was wrong, but she only pointed in my direction.
    My heart nearly stopped. I felt my lips open, but no words came out. They were going to think I was insane.
    “You’ll be alright. Just say hello.” The masculine voice spoke again. I turned once more to see who stood behind me. As before, no one was there. Cooper and Jaden stared at me.
    “How are you two?” I forced the words from my mouth. They came slowly and hesitantly. “Are you enjoying the show?” A bead of sweat trickled down from my forehead, and I wiped it away before anyone could see it.
    They had blank expressions, seeming stunned at my apparent calm demeanor. Finally, Cooper spoke. “Yes, this looks great. You’ve done a wonderful job.” His compliment gave me instant satisfaction. I turned to Jaden, awaiting her reply.
    She fumbled around, delaying speaking to me. I asked again, “How about you, Jaden?”
    “Looks nice. You must have put a lot of thought into all of this,” she said, gesturing to all the different types of art.
    “Yes and no,” I said, shrugging.
    She looked at me with surprise. “How were you able to pull this all together, then? This looks like it took weeks to prepare. And what made you think to use ‘diversity’ as the theme?” Her questions seemed genuine, but I wasn’t sure if her voice had a hint of mockery.
    “I guess things just come together when they’re supposed to. Like fate.” I felt old and wise, yet I had no idea where my sudden tranquility and awareness had come from. “I chose diversity because I feel that if we all began looking at our differences with acceptance, then we can pull from each other’s strengths rather than pick one another apart. It is our differences that make us stronger and help us learn how to be better people.”
    “Oh.” Jaden stepped to the side. “Well, I’ll leave you two to talk. See you later.” Jaden didn’t look up as she spoke.
    Cooper lowered his eyes as she walked away. I could tell he had been having a good conversation with her. No matter how much of me couldn’t stand being in the same room with Jaden, another part of me, a stronger part, kept telling me to be understanding, that I didn’t see the full picture. That internal voice grew harder and harder to ignore.
    As I stared at the silent and disappointed Cooper, I