Read Charcoal Tears for Free Online Page A

catching in my throat. Why did I feel like her words had been somehow aimed at me?
    “Off my desk, Kat.” Cabe sounded annoyed. “You know it was a one-time deal, don’t try and pull this shit.”
    Her smirk melted into a fierce look, dark with anger, and this time it was definitely aimed at me. I shrank back against my chair and she flounced off his desk, moving to the other side of the room. I was a little surprised, as I had pegged Cabe as an almost too-nice kind of guy. Not the kind to brush off a one-night stand so harshly. He fixed his eyes to the front, pulling out a notebook and doodling in it. Mr. Thomas lectured away about appropriate uniforms and Cabe’s notebook slid onto my desk.
    You look like you haven’t slept .
    I winced and pushed away the notebook. He blinked back, surprised by my reaction and then leaned forward, dropping an arm over the back of my chair.
    “I wasn’t trying to insult you. You just look tired.” His whisper caressed my neck, and my vision of the front of the classroom blurred as the scratchy feeling spread over my neck.
    “I’m fine,” I whispered back, inexplicable panic rising in my throat. “It was a late night.”
    His hand fell over my knee, squeezed once, and then he straightened away from me. Across the room, Kat looked like she was about to throw her desk at me. I let out a hard breath and waited for the class to end. Noah leaned against the wall outside as we exited the room, and I wondered how he had managed to get there so quickly. He was in my next two classes, even though I was pretty sure that I’d had history the day before and he hadn’t been in it then. When he sat beside me, everyone stared. Lunchtime couldn’t come soon enough.
    Retreating to my corner table with Matthew was a breath of fresh air, but everyone was still staring. Whispers scattered across the cafeteria, and Matthew shifted in his seat, his eyes flicking up and around, landing on me, going back to his iPad, and repeating the process. Eventually, he set the iPad down.
    “Why is everyone staring?” His voice was a squeak. I felt bad for him.
    “I’m not sure.” It was only half of the truth, but I wasn’t about to say anything about the strange new boys and their awkward attachment to me.
    I suddenly wished that the silent stranger from work were here. Not only would I be able to talk about what was happening without worrying about his judgement, but he’d also frighten everyone else so much that they’d stop staring. I looked over to where Cabe and Noah sat. They were bent together, excluding everyone around them from their whispers. Cabe glanced up, caught me watching, and motioned me over. Matthew’s head snapped back to me, his mouth falling open.
    “What was that?” he asked.
    I coloured, staring down at my hands. When I looked up again, Noah was watching as well. He made the same motion, and I forced myself to my feet, persuading my stiff limbs to walk me over the expanse of the room without tripping. Heads turned as I passed, and Noah ordered the person on his left to move. The whole row shifted down, and Noah caught my arm, pulling me down onto the seat between himself and Cabe. It was uncomfortable, trying to swing my legs over in the skirt I wore. As soon as I was seated, they both moved close to me again.
    “Who’s the friend?” a boy asked from across the table, eyes on me.
    “No one,” Noah said lightly.
    “Seph,” I corrected, needing to clear my throat to work past the nervousness.
    The boy tilted his head, his eyes running over my features. “I feel like I’ve seen you before.”
    I shrugged and turned, bumping Cabe’s arm. He leaned down so that I could speak in his ear without the others hearing.
    “What am I doing here?”
    “Having lunch with us?” He answered my question with another question, and as he pushed something into my hands, my reply died.
    I held a chicken wrap, still warm. I started to eat, and was already halfway through before I