Reunion (A Psychological Suspense with Murder, Mystery and the Paranormal) Read Free

was normal.
    Tanner tapped on Kenny’s arm. “Hey. Look at the Tooleys.” He pointed toward the scuffling brothers. Kenny glanced at the twins and laughed.
    Nick grabbed Randy by the neck, put him in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles deep into Randy’s skull. Their books fell to the pavement. Randy responded by landing a solid blow to Nick’s kidney. Nick let go and grimaced.
    “Ah. Whew!” said Nick, arching his back and rubbing his side. “The next time you won’t be so lucky!”
    Randy smirked at his boisterous twin. “You’re just a big slab of meat, Nick. All talk. That’s all you are! All talk.”
    Randy picked up his books, walked toward the school entrance and saluted the American flag as a group of eighth graders hoisted it heavenward.
    Tanner had always loved school. He loved the sounds and excitement of the beginning of a new school day, but he couldn’t shake off the dark feeling. What’s wrong with me, he silently questioned.
    Kenny popped Tanner in the back of his head with the palm of his hand. Tanner’s head jetted forward.
    “I gotta go, Tan. See ya later.” Kenny threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and hurried away.
    Tanner forced himself to smile. “See ya.”
    Tanner followed the crowd of students who were walking up the concrete steps toward the large glass doorway at the front of the building. His dusty blond hair waved across his forehead. As he approached the door, he noticed his reflection looking back at him, worried, scared.
    The cool air rushed across his face. He turned his head in all directions, looking at the junior and senior high students laughing and teasing as usual. He watched some of the teenagers make a desperate attempt to complete their assignments, while a few couples grabbed last-minute kisses before class began. An unrecognizable heaviness pressed down on him. Tanner warred within himself. Something wasn’t right; he just knew it.
    • • •
    By 8:02 a.m., students were flooding into the school. David plopped down on his bed and threw his hands behind his head, locking his fingers tight. His thin frame barely made a dent in the mattress. He looked up at his ceiling and studied the glowing galaxies that he’d stuck to the drywall a few years back. The stars and planets represented the hope of something else—a new frontier. When he was younger, he had dreamed that someday he would blast off into a world where he was the superhero. As he grew older, the dream faded, crashing like the Challenger space shuttle. He closed his eyes and began the recurring process of placing blame.
    John Ray. Don’t even wanna say his name. Wish I could kill him, but he’s back in jail. Son of a bitch. Bill and Sheila—I hate ‘em both. A match made in heaven is what they are. And those damn cheerleaders, what a bunch of sluts. Ask one out and they give you crap for the rest of your life. Think I’m some kind of nerd they can laugh at behind my back, huh? And that fat ass, Nick Tooley. God I hate him! Can’t wait to blow his brains out! Who else? Stupid-ass jocks. I’m sure I’ll know ‘em when I see ‘em. Bryan Jacobs? Nah. He’s all right. He stood up for me. And his dad gave me a summer job last year. He’s gonna be a doctor someday. Well they’re gonna need him when I’m finished. I don’t remember him givin’ me problems. Yeah. He’s okay.
    David remembered when Bryan had helped him out earlier in the school year. Nick Tooley had flicked his sock cap off his head and tossed it back and forth with some of his football buddies. David had stood in the middle of the jocks, humiliated, grabbing for his cap while they laughed and poked fun at him. When he turned to one of his abusers, the one behind him swatted him in the back of his head. They’d pushed him around as if he were human waste, grabbing his long hair and tugging until his head jerked backward and his body joggled like a pinball. He had felt powerless, humiliated, and exposed—a weakling to the