Free Ever After by Heather McBride Page A

date was coming near and my father’s attorneys swore they would get him jail time. I prayed they were right.
     
    It was now February and the heavy gray overcast sky spit snow out like a machine, drawing out kids and kids at heart to romp in its winter magic. William and I had decided to go sledding along with the other half of our town. William’s cousins tagged along, all five of them.
     
    I was amazed at his gene pool. All five were super handsome but not better looking than William of course. The one thing I noticed first off was they all had this amazing ivory skin most models would die for. They were all pale unlike Will; his warm skin tone was different from theirs.
     
    The two closest to our age were Roth and Taylor. I had Roth in my history class and Taylor was in my economics class. Roth was Will’s height with dark brown hair. Taylor had blond hair cut in a spiky style, and he was a bit shorter. His other cousins were Kyle and Sam they were twins, both with wavy sandy blond hair and amazing green eyes. I could not tell them apart since they were identical twins. Riley was the youngest cousin. He was sixteen, and had black hair like Will. He also seemed to follow Will a lot. He looked up to him, that I could tell right away.
     
    Will and Roth started a major snowball fight. Taylor and Kyle were cheating using their sleds as shields. I took cover behind Will’s sled. Riley was on our side with Roth; we all were half frozen before Taylor and Kyle surrendered. The snow was falling harder as we all started sledding. The hill we were at was the best sledding hill in Cambridge.
     
    I smiled watching Will and his cousins acting like ten-year-old boys. They were all so adorable, rough- housing in the snow. His cousins had to leave a short time later. Will and I decided to stay and sled longer. It was nice to do something simple, and not think about Todd or the upcoming court date.
     
    I was starting to get cold; I pulled my coat up around my neck, pulling my hat tighter around my frozen ears.
     
    “Are you cold?” Will asked as he took my gloved hand into his.
     
    “I’m okay.” I chattered, unable to hide my shaking hands. Heck, I would turn into a human Popsicle to be here with Will, cold be damned. He pulled my scarf gently, tucking it around my neck. He leaned closer to me, kissing my cheek, and then nuzzling my ear playfully. I as usual sighed. Every time we touched, I was unable to move, barely able to breathe, and loved every minute of it.
     
    I leaned into Will thoroughly enjoying the moment, when he suddenly pulled away. A look of anguish crossed his beautiful face. I was speechless at his strange reaction to me getting closer to him. He stepped back, his hand covering his mouth. His eyes were slightly damp. I felt a stab of physical pain in my chest, at the way he moved away from me.
     
    I couldn’t believe he was acting like this. I tried to think of what I might have done or said that afternoon to cause him to act like this. I couldn’t think of anything.
     
    The whole afternoon we had so much fun and I loved finally meeting some of Will’s mysterious family. I never pushed him to introduce me to any of them. I felt he would do that when he was ready. I watched him act as if he suddenly didn’t even want to be in the park with me anymore and it hurt.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
    “ William”
     
     
     
    I watched her, her cheeks red flushed with joy all afternoon. We had made so many wonderful memories the past few months. I noticed more and more she asked questions about my past, growing up, and things of that nature. I hated myself for having to lie to her and make up ridiculous stories. I had to tell her the truth; she deserved to know who and what I truly was. I would have to accept her choice if the reality of my existence was too much for