Resistance (The Variant Series #2) Read Free Page A

begin.
    “Are we actually at the intersection of Highway 9 and something named Tater Peeler Road?” asked Kenzie, squinting out the scratched plastic window of the Wrangler’s cloth top.
    Cassie was busy scrutinizing Alex. “You’re still spazzing about the skin thing, aren’t you.”
    Not a question.
    “’Mmnot,” Alex mumbled.
    “Right.” She smiled. “Stop gnawing at your fingers, then.”
    “Who the heck names a road Tater Peeler ? I mean… this is the beach. If you’re going to go full-on weird, why not something like Barnacle Bob Boulevard or Don’t Park Here Tourists Or We’ll Tow You Drive.”
    “Don’t Park Here Tourists Or We’ll Tow You Drive?” echoed Cassie.
    “You locals are weird about parking on private streets near the beach. It’s a thing I’ve noticed.”
    “Mmhmm,” said Alex distractedly, still staring up at the red light.
    “So excited!” Kenzie was mumbling. “Hey, look! A Bayside Brews! It’s a chain? I thought that cafe on the Boardwalk was just a one-off. And this one’s only five minutes from my new house! Love it. Think we have time to hit the drive-through? I could use an iced coffee.”
    Cassie straightened out the folds in her gray linen skirt. “Alex, remind me to slip our new classmate a Xanax at lunch.”
    The light changed. Alex hit the gas just a little too hard.
    Cassie grabbed for the roll bar again. “Maybe I should slip you one, too.”
    “Sorry.”
    Kenzie was still smiling in the backseat. “I’m not going to apologize for being in a good mood. If Declan can’t ruin my morning, I’m pretty sure nothing can.”
    Alex perked up slightly at the mention of Kenzie’s older brother, then forced herself to ignore the sudden increase in her heart rate.
    The guy was a derisive, condescending jerk, Alex reminded herself.
    A derisive, condescending jerk that could be kind of sweet when he wanted to be.
    “What’d he do this time?” asked Alex.
    “He bogarted my bathroom!” she grumbled. “I had, like, ten minutes in there this morning. Total.”
    Cassie smirked. Alex thought of Cassie sharing one bathroom with four brothers of her own and figured she understood Kenzie’s frustrations all too well.
    “He’s supposed to be sharing one with Brian. Instead he hijacked my en suite. And it took him ages this morning,” she continued. “He can take five-minute showers whenever it suits him, but god forbid I want to look cute for something. Then it takes him half a freaking hour.”
    Declan.
    Shower.
    Alex flashed back to her first morning at the cabin—of Declan striding casually down the stairs with his hair tousled and still wet from the shower, smelling of cinnamon and woodsmoke and something uniquely Declan …
    A warm blush crept into her cheeks as she attempted to bury that thought beneath a few tons of imaginary cement and lines from a play she’d memorized the previous semester for her English class.
    When she realized that the lines were actually dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, she abruptly stopped her recitation and bit down on her lower lip.
    Not helping.
    “Preaching to the choir, Kenzie,” said Cassie. “Brothers. Who needs ’em?”
    Kenzie nodded her agreement.
    “But speaking of the O’Connell boys…” said Cassie. “How’s Aiden?”
    “My cousin is doing just fine, thanks for asking,” said Kenzie. “Although he won’t shut-up about this certain blonde I know.”
    Cassie appeared to be fighting back a smile.
    “No, seriously.” Kenzie leaned forward to peek into the front seat. “Call the poor boy and put him out of his misery. My entire household will thank you.”
    Last red light. They were now one left turn and a two-hundred yard drive away from the junior class parking lot.
    Alex drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and tried not to think about crowded hallways and closely placed desks.
    She eyed the three-quarter sleeves of her peasant blouse and suddenly