So Over My Head Read Free

do.” I walk away as fast as my shaking legs will move.
    “Wait.” Luke runs to catch up. His hand clasps my arm. “Bella, hold up.”
    I round on the boy, my eyes flashing. “And you said it was all in my head—that she wasn’t chasing you. Now is my idea so crazy?”
    “Ashley didn’t mean it.”
    I blink. “You’re taking up for her?”
    “No, I—” He sets his jaw and stares at the ground. “This is what you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it? You’ve just been waiting for me to screw up—like all the other guys in your life.”
    “Don’t turn this on me, Luke. You’re the one who had your lips plastered to a girl who is not your girlfriend.”
    “I was pushing her away.”
    “I can’t work with her. I won’t work with her. I want Ashley off the newspaper staff.”
    He reaches out again, but drops his hand. “You know I can’t do that.”
    “Then we’re through. It’s her or me.”
    “There’s no choice here.” His voice snaps with electricity. “Ashley’s not going to do anything like that again. I’ll make sure of it. But she stays on the paper. I can’t fire someone for attempted kissing.” He steps so close I can’t help but breathe in his earthy cologne. “You know I would never cheat on you.”
    I watch an airplane soar through the night sky. “I need some time.”
    “For what?”
    I bite the inside of my cheek. “Time to figure us out . . . and time to get that image of you two out of my head.”
    “I know you’re mad. You have a right to be. But this boils down to trust—you either trust me or you don’t.”
    I slowly nod and look into the face of the boy I’ve waited for all year. “I guess right now I don’t.”
    Luke stares past me to the big top. “This is really what you want? Because it seems to be like you’re just running scared instead of dealing with what happened—with us.”
    Pain gives my words a biting edge. “I know it’s a big blow to your ego, but I really think a break would do us both some good.”
    He takes off his glasses and nods. “Good luck with your interview. And your space.” Hands stuffed in his khakis, he walks away.
    Leaving me standing in the midst of a hundred cars. And one broken heart.
    I return to the main tent just as Alfredo the magician is working his way out of some chains. Soon all of them fall, and he’s left with nothing but a pair of handcuffs. Finally they, too, drop to the ground, and the audience goes wild. But right now the man could completely vanish, and I wouldn’t be impressed.
    “And now ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the lovely Cherry Fritz, our reigning princess of the trapeze!” Red Fritz waves his arms grandly toward the ceiling as a young girl flies through the air.
    Ugh, men. Who needs them? There’s my cheater ex, Hunter, my dad who is planning a wedding even though he’s the last person on the planet who needs a wife. And my stepdad? Life majorly changed when he won a professional wrestling reality show. Like having a stepfather who wears spandex on a regular basis isn’t stressful enough. Where are the normal guys? I thought Luke was one of them. He’s cute in that Clark Kent, Abercrombie sort of way. He’s freakishly mature and smart. And he’s not just a nerdy brainiac— he’s even the captain of his soccer team. I thought I wanted nothing more than to be his girlfriend. Ever since I arrived in Truman this fall, we’ve been drawn together like two magnets. But tonight his magnetism’s pulling in one too many girls.
    Feeling absolutely miserable, I sit through the rest of the show. A guy walks on a tightrope. A girl does a handstand on a prancing horse. A small clown gets shot from a cannon. But all I can think about is Luke.
    God, I’m right here aren’t I? Aren’t I the injured party ?
    Before I know it, all the lights come up and people are exiting the bleachers. I sit for a while longer and watch the workers go into action sweeping, removing the animals, and clearing