Building on Lies Read Free Page A

just came out of nowhere and dropped down right in front of my face. I freaked”. By this time, I was calm enough to talk. But now, instead of feeling afraid, I was feeling very embarrassed. I’d acted like a complete idiot in front of Channing Sutton, of all people! My face burned red with humiliation, and it got even worse as my mom began to tell Channing and Gemma about how severe my arachnophobia was.
    “ I mean, she hasn’t even gone to visit her grandmother in her new house," my mother said, making it seem as if I’d written my grandmother off completely because of spiders. “ She’s scared there may be spiders everywhere”.
    “ Phobias can be pretty intense,” Channing said, and he looked at me sympathetically.
    “ I feel better now," I said, wanting to end the conversation about my stupid phobia. “ I found a box cutter you can use, Mom”.
    “ I left it in the storage closet," Channing said. “ I took it from her because I was scared she was going to cut herself. Her hands were shaking pretty bad”.
    “ I’ll go get it!" Gemma said, probably feeling remorseful about not helping me find one in the first place.
    “ Meninha , maybe you should go home? Lie down for a bit?" Giselle suggested. “ You still look upset”.
    “ I don’t really trust her to drive," my mother said, shaking her head. “It takes a while for her to calm down after she has a panic attack”.
    “ I can take her home," Channing volunteered. “ I know you’re supposed to be installing the blinds”.
    I tried to catch my mother’s eyes. I didn’t want Channing Sutton driving me home! I was so mortified I just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
    But my mother didn’t catch my signal, and she looked at Channing appreciatively.
    “ Thank you so much, young man," she said. “ I feel so foolish about not bringing all my tools in the first place. I’m so sorry to inconvenience you like this”.
    “ It’s no bother," Channing said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
    “ I’m so glad you found her"Giselle added. “ She would probably still be stuck in closet if you hadn’t”.
    “ Well, I was taking my clothes down to the laundry and I heard her whimpering. I actually thought it was our dog, Duke. Sometimes he whimpers like that when he gets stuck somewhere," Channing explained.
    Wonderful! I’d been whimpering like a lost dog!
    Gemma came back with box cutter, and I finished drinking my water.
    Channing waited for me, and I gave him a wobbly smile as I followed him to his car.
    “ Feeling better?" he asked, rubbing my shoulder. He was a lot taller than I was, and I had to look up at him to respond.
    “ Yeah. I’m just…," my voice trailed off as I looked into his dazzling green eyes. They were a glittery green, with flecks of gold. “ Um, yeah. Thanks for getting me out of there”.
    “ You’re welcome," he said, smiling. “ I’m kind of scared of heights, so I know what it’s like to freak out like that”.
    “ I’m sure you don’t start crying for your mommy, though," I said, sheepishly.
    He opened the passenger side door for me when we got to his car, a sleek, silver Mercedes.
    I slid in, and tried desperately to relax. It was nerve wracking, though, being in a luxurious expensive car, with an outrageously handsome boy.
    “ Trust me, I’ve cried for my mom under less stressful circumstances, so don’t sweat it. You’ve got a pretty bad phobia, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed. It’s not like you want to feel that way about spiders, you know?”
    I nodded. We pulled out of his driveway, and I gave him directions to where I lived. I lived on the other side of town, in Egg Cove, about fifteen minutes away.
    “ You’ve got a great entertainment room, Channing," I said, after we were silent for a bit.
    “ Thanks, Nellie. You should come and hang out sometime," he said, looking over at me.
    I was so flabbergasted a boy like Channing Sutton had invited me to hang out I didn’t know how to