Read Destiny (Absent Shadows Trilogy Book 1) for Free Online Page B

come too. Mum will go ballistic if it’s just me and Tom.’
    ‘You’re a big girl, you can go without me.’
    ‘No, really—she’ll be spewing if I say I’m going away for a weekend with some guy. If I tell her you’re going too, it’ll be cool. Please, Lili. Tell me you’ll come with us. It’ll be fun. I promise.’
    It made no sense. I’d just spent the afternoon convincing myself that my attraction to Sam was ridiculous—not to mention completely one-sided. And now here was Claire, telling me that Tom had already spoken to him about going away for a weekend, and that he was looking forward to it. How could that be?
    It probably wasn’t true, that’s all there was to it. Tom probably just said that to Claire. Or maybe Sam owed him a favour or something. Well, the last thing I wanted to do was spend a whole weekend with someone who couldn’t even talk to me without looking like he was in pain. It had been awkward enough going to the football game. And then our little chat in the gardens … that was so uncomfortable. A whole weekend would be pure torture.
    ‘Lili, are you still there? Tell me you’ll come to Sydney with us. Please.’
    I had to say something, but what? ‘Alright, I’ll think about it. I’m not saying yes, I’m saying maybe. I want to speak to Sam first. The last thing I want is to get to Sydney, then have you and Tom take off somewhere and leave me alone with someone that doesn’t even want to be there.’
    ‘Oh, it won’t be like that …it’s going to be so much fun.’
    ‘Hey, I didn’t say I’d go yet. I said maybe.’
    ‘That’s cool. Sam wants to go. Tom said so. So it’s settled, really. You’ll see. We’re going to have a great time.’
    We said our goodbyes, then I sat and stared at the wall, my head spinning. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t sleep tonite. I kept trying to recall every bit of the conversation we’d had in the gardens this morning. Was there some clue I’d missed? Did Sam really want to spend a whole weekend with me, when he could barely stand to talk to me for more than a few minutes? No, this had to be Tom’s idea. Maybe he hadn’t even spoken to Sam yet. Maybe he was just telling Claire what he thought she wanted to hear.
    I wished I could just put it all out of my mind, but I kept seeing those dark blue eyes, and remembering how good it felt when he put his jacket around my shoulders.
    I’d have to see Sam in person … look him in the eye and ask him if he really wanted to go. I mean, it would be awesome if he actually did want to go. But I could still hear his voice as he’d said he didn’t mix well with people.
    ~~***~~
    I woke to find the room filled with sunshine. It looked to be one of those clear winter days when the sky is so blue it doesn’t look real. I was anxious to go for my run, hoping to casually bump into Sam. I pulled on my sweats but when I went into the kitchen Debs was standing there, shaking her head at me.
    ‘Good morning sleepy head. Now, have a bit of brekkie, and let’s go shopping! I’m dying to get you into something a bit more fashionable,’ she said, smirking.
    I tried to think of an excuse to get out of it, but there wasn’t one. I’d have to try to do a run when we got back, if it wasn’t too late.
    We spent the morning going through various shops, and although I had little fashion sense of my own, I had to admit it was fun shopping with someone who did. I let her pick out a couple of outfits for me and some shoes to go with them so that I’d have something besides runners and boots to wear.
    By lunchtime I was exhausted so I was grateful when Debs led me into a cute little café. We sat in the back near a warm fire, and had minestrone soup and some crusty bread rolls. It was nice to just sit and talk. I had no intention of telling her about Sam, or even David. But I was prepared to mention that I wasn’t too sure about going back to college next fall.
    ‘You’re young. There’s plenty of time to