Reluctant Guardian Read Free

appear and comfort him. She never does though. Nothing is more acutely disappointing.
    His grades are dropping and he has gotten in a few fights at school—nothing he started, but he's not about to stand by and take crap about his nonexistent parents and the fact that he doesn't buy his clothes from Nordstrom.
    The only light on the horizon is Jill, who is beautiful, kind, and wonderful. Always there like a balm of happiness, ready to cheer him up at the end of each dark day. She is the miracle he needed, and he plans to hang onto her as long as he can.
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CHAPTER FOUR
    ~Roommates~
    Alisa
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    I have no idea how long I lie on my new, unfamiliar bed—which is made with a quilt that looks exactly like the one on my bed at home. I miss the tick-tock of my clock, the pictures on my walls, my closet full of clothes. And let's not forget the ability to judge the passing of time.
    No shadows move across the walls here, nor does anyone call me for dinner. When is it time to go to bed? When are the classes I'm supposed to attend? How do the people here stand it? How will I? In that moment I know I'll go crazy if I stay, and I wish more than anything to turn back time.
    Within a few moments, my new roommates show up, barreling through the door. The front-runner is laughing, and when they see me, they freeze, stiff smiles appearing on their surprised faces. It's easy to see they have already become friends and that I'll be the odd one out.
    My death is turning out to be as wonderful as my life. What a nice surprise.
    â€œHi!” the laughing, boisterous redhead exclaims when she sees me. She plops down beside me on my bed and gives me a one-armed hug. “It's great to meet you! I'm Shana.” She takes my hand and pumps my arm up and down with a firm grip.
    â€œHi.” I pull away slightly. She smells like buttered toast. Weird. Gram smelled like apple pie. I wonder what I smell like, if anything.
    â€œThat’s Cinder,” she says, pointing to the sullen girl whose long, black hair hangs over one eye. Cinder doesn't brush it back or even tuck it behind her ears, but carries her aura of sorrow like a heavy shroud. I feel depressed just looking at her. She may have brown eyes, but I can't tell. She walks slowly to her bed and sits, keeping her chin tucked to her chest.
    The third girl, who is at least six feet tall with the shoulders of a linebacker and thick flexing hands, towers over the rest of us. She glares, animosity radiating from her in palpable, threatening waves.
    I have to live with these people? Okay, I can deal with Shana, Miss Happy Cheerleader, but I don't do well with roughnecks like Miss Muscle, or goths, like Cinder. They are the kind of people I usually avoid.
    â€œThat's Deedre.” Shana points to the giant who lies on her bed with her hands intertwined behind her head. “She's... not as bad as she seems. She just needs a smoke.”
    â€œYou can do that here?”
    Shana leans closer slowly shaking her head. “That's why she's so ornery. Just stay out of her way.”
    I stare at Deedre's spiky blonde hair and muscular body. Staying out of her way won't be a problem. I have no desire to get close.
    Deedre's head whips around and she stares at me hard, her dark eyes cold, hateful. A river of hostile thoughts plows into my mind, and pictures of Deedre's hands around my neck, her yellow teeth gritted above my face, will be forever imprinted on my mind. She shakes her head slowly, never taking her eyes from mine.
    I shuffle back on my bed in surprise, my hands automatically raised over my face to protect myself from the mental onslaught. I feel pummeled and, to some degree, violated, which somehow leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
    Deedre laughs and the attack stops.
    I look up to see Cinder and Shana staring. Deedre snickers, a make-believe cigarette held between her fingers. She brings her hand to her mouth and takes an imaginary puff, then blows the pretend smoke toward