Read Onyx for Free Online

serious distraction.
    Mom hated that there were books everywhere. They weren’t really everywhere . Just wherever I was, like the couch, recliner, kitchen counters, laundry room, and even the bathroom. It wouldn’t be like that if she caved and installed a wall-to-ceiling bookcase.
    But no matter how I tried to get into the book I was reading, it wasn’t working. Half of it was the book. It had insta-love, the bane of my existence. Girl sees boy and falls in love. Immediately. Soul mate, breath stealing, toes curling, love after one conversation. Boy pushes girl away for some paranormal reason or another. Girl still loves boy. Boy finally admits love.
    Who was I kidding? I sort of loved all that angst. It wasn’t the book. It was me. I couldn’t clear my head and fully immerse myself in the characters. I grabbed a bookmark off the coffee table and shoved it in the book. Dog-eared pages were Antichrist of book lovers everywhere.
    Ignoring what was happening wasn’t working. It just wasn’t in me to run from my troubles like this. Besides, if I was honest with myself, I knew I was more than a little freaked out by what was happening. What if I was imagining I was moving things? The fever could’ve killed off a few brain cells. I dragged in air so fast my head swam. Could a person get schizophrenia from being sick?
    Now that just sounded stupid.
    Sitting up, I pressed my head to my knees. I was fine. What was happening… There had to be a logical explanation for it. I hadn’t closed the locker door all the way and Simon’s lumbering steps had jarred it open. And the glass—left on the edge. And there was a good chance that Mom had left the cap on the tea loose. She was always doing stuff like that.
    I took several more deep breaths. I was okay. Logical explanations made the world go around. The only fault in that line of thought was the fact I lived next door to aliens , and that was so not logical.
    Pushing off the couch, I checked the window to see if Dee’s car was out front. Pulling on my hoodie, I headed next door.
    Dee immediately pulled me into the kitchen. There was a sweet, burned smell.
    “I’m glad you came over. I was just about to come get you,” she said, dropping my arm and rushing over to the counter. There were several pots scattered across the countertop.
    “What are you doing?” I peered over her shoulder. One of the pots looked like it was filled with tar. “Ew.”
    Dee sighed. “I was trying to melt chocolate.”
    “With your microwave hands?”
    “It’s an epic fail.” She poked at the gunk with a spatula. “I can’t get the temp right.”
    “Then why don’t you just use the stove?”
    “Pfft, I loathe the stove.” Dee pulled the spatula up. Half of it had melted. “Whoops.”
    “Nice.” I shuffled over to the table.
    With a wave of her hand, the pots flew to the sink. The tap turned on. “I’m getting better at this.” She grabbed some dish soap. “What were you and Daemon doing at lunch?”
    I hesitated. “I wanted to talk about the whole lake thing. I’d thought I…dreamed that.”
    Dee cringed. “No, that was real. He got me when he brought you back. I was the one to place you in dry clothes, by the way.”
    I laughed. “I was hoping that was you.”
    “Although he did volunteer for the job,” she said, her eyes rolling. “Daemon is so helpful.”
    “That he is. Where…where is he?”
    She shrugged. “No clue.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why do you keep itching your arm?”
    “Huh?” I stopped, not even realizing I was doing that. “Oh, they took my blood in the hospital to make sure I didn’t have rabies or something.”
    Laughing, she tugged up my sleeve. “I have some stuff that you can put—holy crap, Katy.”
    “What?” I glanced down at my arm and sucked in a breath. “Yuck.”
    My entire inner elbow looked like a fleshy strawberry. All that was missing was a leafy green cap. The raised splotches of red skin were speckled with darker dots.
    Dee