Read Death's Awakening for Free Online Page B

she’d
actually talked to him some last night. He’d come so close to
asking her out. And he would have if it wasn’t for the sick
guy.
    Noah kept one eye on
the Sorrows house as he moved the rest of the trash cans to the curb.
He wanted to see her. He’d just run off last night without even
saying goodnight. She was probably just as freaked out as he was.
    There was something so
strangely intoxicating about her. She was so different from any girl
he’d ever known. All the girls at school were the same. They
talked about the same things. Wore the same kinds of clothes. And
they always agreed with him. Half the time he didn’t even think
they were really listening to him.
    But Parrish wasn’t
like that.
    The door inside their
garage opened and his heart jumped. He squinted against the sun,
trying to act casual as he rearranged the cans.
    It was just Mr.
Sorrows, Parrish’s dad. He set two more heavy bags down beside
the others, then stared at them, counting on his fingers.
    Noah turned away and
headed back down his driveway. He spotted his basketball in the grass
next to the pavement and scooped it up. He tossed it toward the hoop
over the garage and it swished right through. The ball bounced once
before he grabbed it up again and dribbled it against the white
cement of the driveway.
    Across the street, Mrs.
Sorrows joined her husband. He couldn’t hear exactly what they
were saying, but it was obvious they were arguing over something. As
usual. Man, those people were always fighting. He could hear them
from here. Something about Zoe’s violin. It was always
something about Zoe. They seemed so proud of her, but at the same
time, her success really seemed to stress them out all the time.
    He tossed the ball
through the hoop a couple more times, never missing. He concentrated
on the sound of the ball pounding against the pavement. He dribbled
twice moving further from the goal before taking his shot. Even from
here, though, the ball passed easily through the hoop on the first
try.
    The garage door across
the street slammed so loud Noah couldn’t help but look over.
Mrs. Sorrows was gone. Her husband had a sour look plastered on his
face. He kicked at the one of the suitcases and went to punch the
side of the car, but stopped just short, his fist still balled up
tight.
    Mr. Sorrows shook his
head and walked around the side of the house. He threw a quick glance
back toward the garage, then stepped into the shadows under a large
tree. He leaned over and grabbed something from between the bushes on
the side of the house.
    Noah squinted to see
what the guy was doing. A couple sparks, then a flame. Then smoke.
Mr. Sorrows stepped back into the light for just a second and Noah
saw the cigarette in his hand and laughed. He couldn’t blame
him.
    He jogged out a few
extra steps, then bounced and turned, lobbing the ball toward the
hoop with one hand. Twenty consecutive shots and not a single miss.
Way better than normal. He was really on a roll here. Too bad no one
was here to see it.
    He glanced back toward
the house across the street. Something in an upstairs window glinted
in the sunlight and he looked up. Parrish stood in the window,
staring down at him. Their eyes met across the distance and his
already racing heart jumped.
    He lifted a hand in a
half-wave and smiled, but she didn’t react at all. No wave. No
smile. She just turned away, letting the white curtain fall back
across the window.
    He stood there for a
beat longer than he should have, just staring up at the space she
used to occupy.
    What was it with that
girl? He thought maybe after their talk last night, she’d open
up to him a little more. He thought maybe he’d finally pierced
through that hard outer shell she liked to keep around herself. What
was it going to take to get closer to her?
    Noah shook his head and
tossed the basketball at the hoop one last time.
    The ball rolled around
the edge of the hoop, then fell in.

Crash
    Hurry up, people.
    Crash