Read The Other Side of Envy: The Ghost Bird Series: #8 (The Academy) for Free Online

hands balled into fists under the table. That wasn’t much time at all. “What do I do? Where do we start?”
    “Again, we’re lucky the holidays are coming up. We’ll have more free time,” he said. He held up fingers and counted off. “Mr. Morgan, Mr. North Taylor and Mr. Korba, so far, I believe are in agreement. Mr. Lee needs convincing, we know. Mr. Griffin is on the fence, but if Mr. Lee agrees, I feel he’ll follow. The others I’m not sure about, although I believe if you expressed your interest, they could be persuaded.”
    I counted off in my head, Victor, North and Silas, versus Kota and Nathan. Luke, I thought, was on my side. Gabriel I wasn’t sure about. “What about Dr. Green?”
    “He’s on my side,” Mr. Blackbourne said quickly.
    “And what is your side?” I asked.
    Mr. Blackbourne’s lips shifted, and that millimeter smile appeared. It threatened to distract me from his next words. “Believe it or not, I’m on your side. I wouldn’t force you into the Academy if you didn’t want it.” He leaned in a little then, the steel in his eyes softening to something more silver. “And if you told me you prefer to stay out of it, I’d respect that, too. You’ll always have the choice. No matter what, we’ll be here for you.”
    My heart warmed. I did want in the Academy, but I liked knowing I didn’t have to join to stay with them. That lead me to another thought and I nervously glanced around at the gentlemen drinking coffee at the counter, wishing we’d picked to go somewhere more private. “If...if for some reason I can’t convince them, would it be better if I told the Academy I wasn’t interested in joining.”
    “Maybe,” he said quietly. “But I don’t want you to lie to them, and I don’t want to hold you back, either.”
    I wasn’t sure what he’d be holding me back from. I’d already participated in their jobs, even if I didn’t join them on every single one of them. Most of the time I didn’t know where they’d gone or what they were doing. Being outside of the Academy felt more like I was being held back. I’d rather put off signing up for the Academy until we were all ready rather than signing up too soon if Kota wasn’t on board yet.
    “There’s another part we’ll have to straighten out, too,” he said.
    I was about to ask what it was when our coffees were delivered. The waiter politely informed us our breakfasts would be out very shortly. He dropped off a creamer and sugar for Mr. Blackbourne, nodded to us and then turned to address other customers just coming in.
    My eyes flitted to the family that had entered, waiting to be seated. Mr. Blackbourne started with his coffee and it distracted me. I watched as he poured in cream, and then one sugar and stirred with the spoon. He picked up the cup, sipped it quickly and then put it down.
    I picked up my own coffee, thinking to drink it before he asked me to. It wasn’t like the bottled coffee I was used to. It had more coffee in it and wasn’t as sweet, but it tasted fine. There was a bitterness to it underneath. I preferred the Frappuccinos.
    Mr. Blackbourne seemed to ease then. “I have some news. Your stepmother has come out of her critical condition and is asking for Marie.”
    I waited, anticipating him saying she’d been asking for me, too. After a second, I realized that wasn’t the case. Of course she wouldn't ask for me. She didn’t like me. Still, the news was something I’d been dreading. “Does this mean she’ll be out of the hospital soon?”
    “Not yet,” he said. “It seems her mental state is somewhat unstable still. Dealing with an illness this extreme can be hard on anyone.”
    They couldn’t keep her in the hospital forever. I didn’t know much about insurance, only what my father used to complain about over the years when my mother so often went into the hospital. The longer she stayed, the higher the bill got. She’d been away for a while, and would be there longer still.