Read Awaken for Free Online Page B

his own advice,” I said.
    My phone rang, interrupting us, and I looked down at the screen to see it was a private number. I answered the call and my heart went into palpitations at the sound of Justin’s voice.
    “Hey, can you meet up today?” he asked. I couldn’t believe it. I spent the entire week accepting the fact I’d never hear from him again. I even deleted his name from my chat list to ease the rejection.
    I opened my mouth to answer him but no words came out. I was still in shock that he found my number since I never gave it to him. It wasn’t listed either – my dad took care of that one.
    “Madeline?” he asked.
    I nodded as if he could see me.
    “This is Justin,” he said.
    “Okay,” I mumbled.
    “Okay, as in yes?” His voice was fast and it had an edge to it, like he was daring me to do something.
    “How did you get this number?”
    He exhaled a long breath. “Honestly, it wasn’t easy. I had to have a friend of mine hack into some server to get it.”
    I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. For a split second I believed him. But he had to be joking. Before I could ask, he spoke up.
    “What are you doing later?” he asked, getting back to the point. I glanced at my mom and she watched me with curiosity. I figured there was no harm in chatting with him online.
    “No plans.”
    “Can we meet at two?”
    “I’ll be around,” I said, and tried to sound indifferent.
    Justin hung up without another word. I set my phone down and tried not to smile. I had to restrain myself from jumping out of my seat and pumping the air with my fists.
    “Madeline, you’re glowing,” Mom said.
    I stared down at my lap. “No, I’m not.”
    “Look at you – you’re pink all over.”
    “It must be the vitamins kicking in,” I said, and slurped up the last sip of my float.
    Her eyes were bright. “Who was that?”
    “Justin, the guy from my study group.” Her face instantly fell, as if I just referred to Justin as the neighborhood drug dealer.
    “Oh, that boy” was all she said.
    “First of all,” I said, and pointed a finger in the air, “I wouldn’t call him a boy. Second of all, Dad doesn’t know him, even though he may think he does. And he’s not interested in me. It’s a purely academic relationship.”
    My mom rolled her eyes. “Purely academic on a Saturday afternoon, I’m sure.”
    I looked at the clock and dreaded the impossible idea of preoccupying myself for four hours. I went upstairs, cleaned my room, reorganized my closet, and folded laundry. With still an hour to spare, I changed into a T-shirt and tennis shoes to run in the basement. My parents bought me a running machine for my fifteenth birthday. I’d prefer to jog outside, but it was almost impossible in the city, with trains and shuttles slowing you down at each corner. I run for an hour every day – it’s like an addiction. The movement reminds my blood to flow and my lungs to expand. I like the rhythm – the fluid motion it gives me without interruption. It makes me feel like I can outrun my problems, as if they’re chasing me. Sometimes I pretend I’m running away.
    I took Baley downstairs with me so she could exercise on our PetSpet; it’s a running machine for dogs. I switched on the machine for Baley and she trotted along the rotating belt.
    I stepped onto the virtual trail, turned on the power, and the belt sped up under my feet and a screen snapped on around me. I scanned through the trail options until I found the ocean scene. It was my favorite run. I turned the speed up and cranked the volume until the sound of the waves beating down on the sand drowned out my thoughts. A cool breeze brushed my skin and I could hear birds far off in the distance.
    An hour later, flushed from my workout, I ran upstairs and sat in front of my computer. Baley followed me into the room and lay down next to my feet. I glanced at the clock and my stomach rolled in circles when I saw it was 1:50. I quickly