Catch Me When I Fall Read Free Page B

When I saw my opening, I flipped Ivan off me, and he sailed over my head into the bar.
    I jumped up and spun around, ready to block another attack, but Ivan lay limp on the ground. My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath, and my hands shook at my side. Adrenaline coursed through my body. I pressed my fingers to Ivan’s neck. His heartbeat pounded against my fingers.
    Thank god
. Leaving Seth to fight for himself would’ve been a shitty thing to do, but I still didn’t want to kill the guy.
    “
Fuori, ora! Chiamo la polizia!
” the bartender yelled, threatening to call the police if we didn’t leave now.
    “
Mi dispiace per il disordine
.” I apologized for the mess, throwing a wad of cash at the owner, then grabbed Seth’s arm. We needed to get out of here before the police arrived and accused the man of insanity for talking about people who fought then disappeared. We walked down the road until we were sure no one saw us then evaporated back to the mansion.

fter sleeping for exactly seven hours—as I always did—I showered and dressed in my usual outfit: dark wash jeans, black T-shirt and black boots. Running a comb through my dark blond hair, I winced when the teeth raked tender spots on my skull. Seth and I had gone to the medical wing upon our return to the mansion for a healing serum, but the effects hadn’t quite kicked in yet. I still looked like a raccoon with dark purple bruises surrounding my blue eyes.
    Samantha caught me on my trek to the dining hall, her curly, blonde hair bouncing in a ponytail as she jogged to catch up with me. “Hey!”
    I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned to greet her. “Hey, Sam.”
    She crossed her arms over her chest. “Seth tells me your new charge is some psycho. Maybe I should be thanking you for stealing her from me.” Except I could tell she wasn’t thanking me. Her eyes burned with rage.
    “Back off. I had a rough night.”
    “Yeah, I can see that.”
    My jaw twitched. “And you
should
be thanking me because you’re not ready yet to take something on like this.”
    “Oh yeah? How would you know? You look like you ran face-first into a moving train.”
    I walked away, unwilling to deal with her shit today, and about flipped when she followed me.
    “You’re never here anymore. You have no idea what I’m capable of. You go to funerals and movies and concerts like you’re still some freaking human while I stay here and train with Seth. You have no right telling me what I can and can’t do.”
    I stopped and stared at her. Did she not realize I was trying to protect her? “Actually, I do.”
    Her hard, chocolate brown eyes stared into mine as she unfolded her arms. “Fine. Have fun with your psycho.” She spun around and stormed away before I had a chance to respond.
    Shaking my head, I jogged down the stairs to the first floor and passed beneath the oversized, crystal chandelier in the grand foyer. The morning sun from the mansion’s gigantic front windows bounced off the crystal, casting little rainbows to dance on the gold wallpaper. I entered the carpeted hall on my right and headed for the double-doors at the end. As I reached for the handle, they opened and a blur of waist-high, red hair flew at me.
    “Daniel!” Tabitha yelled as she clutched her tiny arms around me.
    Tabitha had been recruited the same day as me, and she was one of the only individuals anymore who could put a smile on my face. She had become like my little sister. Her energy, her enthusiasm, and her unyielding compassion warmed my soul every time I saw her. Those traits were what also made her a Dreamweaver.
    “Tabbi, what are you doing here? I thought you were training in Canada.” I hugged the forever-twelve-year-old girl gently to my forever-seventeen body, afraid that if I squeezed too tight, her tiny frame would break. She had died of starvation on the streets of Northern Ireland in 1814 after giving her last piece of bread to a little boy who was