Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) Read Free

too.  I’m so jealous! 
There’s a ton of exciting stuff to do there, not like boring, old here.” 
She wrinkled her nose to emphasize her
point.       
    So that had to be it.  She
must have wanted a friend to visit in Vancouver if she thought it was so
great.  I was a bit hurt, but with Katie, I supposed I shouldn’t be
surprised if all her friendships, well all her
relationships really, were of convenience.  I didn’t have time to comment
on this discovery, though, as she continued to gush.
    “I looked up some pictures and
stuff on the internet.  You should see the mountains!  There’s skiing
there at this place called Whistler; tons of people go there.  And there
are the beaches in White Rock…and shopping on Robson Street!!”  She turned
back to me, “Hey, maybe I could visit you there sometime?”
    “Sure,” was all I could manage.
Thank god we were sliding into our desks.  I was incapable of continuing
the conversation at the moment.  I noticed a couple of the other less
popular girls in the class shooting daggers at me with their eyes, looking from
me to Katie practically bouncing in the seat beside me.  She must have
been really excited about her Vancouver plan.  They whispered vehemently
back and forth to each other, before glaring at me one final time.  *If
you only knew…,* I thought at them.  They certainly had nothing to be
jealous of.
    I became absorbed in the discussion
in class all too soon, forgetting my wounds for the moment.  We were
working on Lord of the Flies , and it was one of my favorite books. 
I tried not to be overeager when Ms. Larson asked questions about parts of the
book I liked the best.  I was very conscious of Katie beside me. 
Even with my little discovery about her motives, I still didn’t want to come
across as a total nerd.
    My hand shot up, almost
subconsciously, when she asked about the symbolism of the conch shell.  I
offered my lengthy commentary, before remembering myself and hurriedly wrapping
it up.  I glanced nervously at Katie.  She must have thought I was
such a geek.
    “Wow,” Katie looked at me with
admiration in her cornflower eyes, “you are so smart, Maura!”  She
gave me a smile that I have to admit was hard to resist.
    “Thanks,” I answered
blushing.  Well, at least she wanted to visit me along with
Vancouver.  That couldn’t be all bad could it? So tired of feeling like an
isolated freak, I felt any apprehension I’d had waning quickly, as I returned
her smile with one of my own.
     
    At dinner that night, I knew I only
had a few days to prepare Caelyn for a Saturday alone.  I hoped she
wouldn’t feel too deserted.  I couldn’t remember the last time we’d spent
a weekend away from each other.  As a consolation, I’d made her favorite,
pepper steak—Chinese style.  I watched for a moment as she chewed
appreciatively. “This is great, Maura,” she enthused.
    That was about as excited as Caelyn
ever got.  I thought again how it was funny that even after all this time,
she’d never gotten over my dad.  She must have loved him more than I could
imagine was possible. As of yet, I didn’t have one boyfriend to speak of, a
fact Caelyn was overjoyed about.  
    I broke out of my reverie to steel
myself for her reaction to my request.  It was only one Saturday, after
all, and then she’d have me all to herself in a whole new city—make that
country—and I’d never see my new found friends again.  Well, unless Katie
really did intend to make good on her wish to visit us in British
Columbia. 
    “Hey, Mom,” I noticed my voice was
a little shaky.  I must be even more nervous about this then I
realized. 
    She looked slightly alarmed
then.  I might have been the consolation prize, but I was still the only
piece of my father she had in her life, “Maura?  Is something wrong?”
    Great.  Freaking her out was
definitely not the best way to get what I wanted.  “No, Mom.  Calm
down.  I just wanted to