Read Prophecy for Free Online

“We must work with what we have. Seduce him with your awkwardness.”
    “Shut up.” Laughter rumbled through me. The day’s tension had mounted to unmanageable proportions and lack of food made me goofy. The apple in my hand was down to the core. “I think my brain is on hiatus today. I’m more ridiculous than usual.”
    I’d battled with myself since first period over two basic things. One, what the hell was Liam Hale’s major malfunction? Would it kill him to be congenial? Good grief. It was rude and a little intimidating to ignore people, not to mention it fueled rumors his family was unstable. Two, why? Why? Why? Why did I care? I shouldn’t. I didn’t. I’d only had one class with him so far, and now that I knew what he was like, I could avoid conversation and eye contact. I turned my face away from the school in protest of his inexcusable jerkiness. Done.
    Except, I wasn’t done. Even as I fumed over his indifferent stares, all I wanted was to get another look at him.
    Allison checked her face in a compact mirror. “Did you tell him you’re afraid of his house and have been since birth? Not to mention all the ghost stories about it? Oh!” Her eyes went wide. “Maybe he can show you around the place and keep you safe in his room a while.” Allison made a kissy face and batted her long black eyelashes.
    I refused to wonder what kind of kisser he was. Probably a rude one.
    “He fits the gossip. He’s detached, unapproachable, and kind of douchey.” A pang of guilt hit my chest as I spoke the words. I’d never been the new kid and it probably wasn’t easy, especially in a small town where your family was thought of as criminals…or worse. The moonlit image of his house from the night before came to mind. “Maybe they aren’t a nice family. I thought I heard someone scream inside Hale Manor last night. It woke me.”
    “Someone screamed inside an enormous home on the other side of a cornfield from you and it woke you?” Allison shook her head. She was fearless and proud of it.
    I was basically afraid of my shadow and had no problem admitting it.
    “Maybe.” When she put it that way, my imagination seemed the more likely explanation.
    “Are you saying you think he’s dangerous?” She looked me up and down. “Because you could use a bad boy in your life right now.”
    “I had a bad boy in my life. Look where it got me. Humiliated, for starters.” I gave Allison my most pointed look. She knew the hell Kirk had dragged me through emotionally before and after our breakup.
    “Kirk isn’t a bad boy, Callie. He’s an asshole.” All humor left her. “I hate him.”
    “Me too. The good news is Kirk got what he deserved: Hannah.”
    This seemed to change Allison’s mood. “I heard Liam shot Hannah down. In the bathroom, I overheard half the cheer squad analyzing how that was possible. You know, since she’s perfect.”
    “He did. I saw it. She introduced herself to him and he looked right past her.” My smile weakened. “He told her his name, though.”
    “Not the warm reception she’s used to. I like him.” Allison opened her door. “I have class in half an hour. Do you want to hang out this afternoon? I can pick you up after school.” She turned her eyes down, tapping the screen of her phone.
    “No. I—”
    Liam approached his car ten feet away and my heart seized. How much of our conversation had he heard? I’d heard every word of the two girls’ conversation before Allison arrived. My tummy coiled. He beeped open the doors and folded himself sideways onto the driver’s seat, door open, legs sticking out. His feet planted against the ground.
    I pulled my attention back to Allison, still tapping away at her screen. “I want to swim a few laps before I go home.”
    “Ugh. Why can’t you run like everyone else? Text me later.” She slid behind the steering wheel and started her engine. I held my breath as she drove away, wondering if she’d notice Liam’s legs sprouting