Free Falling Darkness: The second book in the Falling Awake Series by T.A Richards Neville Page B

my legs dangling off the bed. I felt uncomfortable. I had slept with my coat on and I was warm, too warm. What time was it?
    “Okay,” I said.
    “I’m going out now anyway.” He nodded in the direction of the living room. “Ressler’s here.”
    I didn’t respond. All I could think was where he was going. More than likely somewhere with Tamara. I’m going through maybe the worst time in my life and all he cares about is getting some? I was starting to feel sick. I tugged hard on the collar of my coat and popped the top few buttons.
    “Don’t rush off on my account. You should spend as much time as you can with your dad.” He tilted his head to the side and what sounded like a breath of laughter escaped his lips. “Before you replace him, I mean.”
    That was it. I jumped up off the bed and Caleb stepped backwards just as I slammed the door as hard as I possibly could in his face.
     
    Ressler took me home to shower and change, and after I put on boots, a big and soft, pink hoody and my black leggings, I locked up and jogged over to Ressler’s Mercedes, running face first into Gracey. She held out her hands to steady me. “Whoa,” she said, smiling at me with a firm grip on my arms.
    “Sorry Gracey,” I said, catching my balance. Shit. What was she doing here? Gracey let go of me and straightened her delicate fingers over her jeans.
    “Hi.” She looked behind her and flicked a wave at Ressler who stood leaning against his car. He gave her a nod and smiled.
    “WTF,” I mouthed to him with my arms raised, while Gracey’s back was turned. I quickly straightened up when she turned back to face me and I smiled a little too happily at her.
    “How’s Gabriel?” she asked me. A frown was creeping across her brow and she looked instantly sorry.
    “He’s the same,” I said. “But he’s going to be okay. I know he is.”
    “And you, how are you?”
    “Good,” I said.
    “And the garage?”
    “All good.” Was that it?
    “And your cousin?”
    That’s what this was about. The ‘cousin’ she was referring to, was in fact Leah, who unbelievably, is an angel of earth. I would never be allowed to stay at home on my own with my dad not there, and it was too unsafe for me to live with anyone else, Caleb and I both agreed, and so queue Leah, my out of town relative. Leah wasn’t happy about it. Far from it, but eventually she agreed to do it. I hardly needed her. She was mostly just a cover story. I still stayed at home on my own. Well I was never alone, not really.
    “She’s fine. She had to go out.”
    “Uh huh,” Gracey said thoughtfully.
    “Are you alright?” I looked closely at her. Gracey had been stunned the first time she had seen Leah and I knew exactly what she was thinking. Leah is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. I know that because I once thought exactly the same thing. Now I was beginning to wonder if she thought Leah was some kind of threat. Gracey seemed to be coming round here more often, looking more and more like she didn’t know exactly what it was she wanted. It was as if she was looking for something. Maybe she thought she would catch Leah and my dad in the closet one day, making out? Who knows? But she was acting strange, and it was making me nervous.
    All at once the spark lit back up in her vacant expression and she smiled broadly. “Okay then, as long as you’re fine.” She rubbed her hands together. The air was crisp and fresh and the tips of her fingers were red from the cold. “Do you want to come over for dinner one night, Sunday maybe?”
    “Sure,” I said. “That’d be nice.”
    “Come by my house around six. I’ll finish at the restaurant early.”
    “Great.”
    “Great.” She wrapped me up in a hug and I put my arms around her and squeezed her back. She said goodbye to Ressler and then got in her car and drove away. Ressler and I watched the car until it disappeared at the end of the street and then when it was gone I heaved out a sigh of