Read Of Breakable Things for Free Online

move with the tide to avoid being trampled. As she treaded among the crowd, she couldn’t be sure if they were staring because of her frail appearance—her size had always generated attention—or because in a small setting like this one, a new face stood out.
    The attention only increased when Alex broke away from the current to stand alone in the corner of the square. The whispers and the pointing didn’t bother her, but the paranoia did. Kids stood on tiptoe, scanning the perimeter, and some covered their heads with their books. Alex tried to ignore them and keep her focus, searching for Chase. Hoping.
    She probably wouldn’t have seen it coming if not for the eruption of screams. A dark shadow inched across the crowd. Above it, a stone boulder of a bench arched to the peak of its height and surrendered to gravity.
    Ellington had not been lying about the new extent of her mind. Now that she thought about it, she could see the trajectory of the object, as though someone had used a marker to trace it in the air. The bench was set to land on the crown of her head. In that split second, she could even visualize exactly where the pieces would land once the bench was demolished.
    Instinctively she thought to run, a logical reaction, but before she could move, an unexplainable energy tugged at her brain. She cried out as her head filled with pressure like a screeching teapot. She feared her skull might burst, and prayed for the pain to release her. It aptly obeyed, shooting from her, detonating like a bomb, forcing her to her knees. The granite bench halted above her, colliding with an invisible barrier. It fell to the ground and landed with five simultaneous claps of thunder.
    Alex remained on her knees, head in her hands, arms shaking like she had just bench-pressed three hundred pounds, and all the weight had landed on her throbbing head. The whispers commenced, but in shock now instead of curiosity. Everyone turned to gawk at her.
    As the dust cleared, there was a figure walking towards her, his shoulders thrown back in a familiar stance of confidence. A moment later, his arms were around her. But something didn’t feel right. His grip was too tight, and his build was too bulky. Alex realized then that it was Jonas Lasalle, and not his brother, who was burying his face in her hair.

 

     
    Jonas Lasalle had never been speechless in his life. He was actually quite proud of his big mouth. But when he saw Alex, it took him a few moments to find his voice. He had known she would join them eventually; the girl had been a walking corpse since birth, but it still didn’t prepare him. There she was. Alive. Prettier than ever. Alone. Without Chase around to distract her, to hover over her like a canopy, hell-bent on preventing her from having any fun in life.
    Who the hell had thrown that bench? Usually when new kids arrived someone would throw a rock or a book at them. It was a barbaric form of initiation, but it was also hilarious. Most boys ran away while the girls screamed like their lives were ending all over again. But not Alex.
    He smirked, listening to the kids around him.
    “Who did that?”
    “How did it explode?”
    “Forget that, who threw it?”
    “How did she do that?”
    He strutted forward, blinded by the dust that stubbornly hung in the air alongside his anticipation. When she saw him, her face twisted into such an expression of joy that Jonas supposed Chase had appeared right behind him. But that was impossible. Chase was gone. For the time being, at least.
    He forgot himself and wrapped his arms around her. Her shock was tangible. He could feel it emanate from her. The fact that he was hugging her was certainly uncharacteristic. Of all the Lasalles, Jonas knew he was considered to be the least likeable, especially in Alex’s eyes. As a child he had ridiculed her. He’d kicked her shins, pulled her hair, hid her belongings, and once even locked her in an old trunk. Now he was hugging her. This PDA went