The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series Read Free Page A

the play button on her cd alarm clock and waited for the peace to over-take her.
    The waiting was always the worst part. She tried to never let her high wear off, simply because of that fact. In between the misery of sobriety and the bliss that was the high, she found her mind falling back to the memories that haunted her.
    She sat back up in the bed and stared into the mirror atop the dresser. As she stared at her reflection, she pulled her bangs back to reveal the scar on her forehead. The scar was an ever present reminder of graduation day in Lincoln , the day that, she felt, she should have died. As time had passed, she found herself growing bitter in a way, bitter that Test “saved” her and brought her back to life. In her mind, it would have been easier if he wouldn’t have found her.
    Those thoughts always led to the regret she felt that she’d ever met him in the first place. She fantasized at how different her life could be if she’d not asked him over that late spring evening. If only she’d waited a couple of weeks, everything could be different. Still, whenever thinking of him, she was overcome with a sadness that they weren’t together. She did worry about what had become of him, if he was okay or even still alive.
    Just as her mind began to delve deeper into the sadness, the effects of the meth appeared in full. A wave of comfort that began at her feet seemed to rush in waves up the length of her body. She closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders, smiling into the mirror that she couldn’t see.
     
    ***
    Thad Johnston curled up with his evening paper and a cup of coffee, trying his best to let the stress of the day fade away. The broken down couch that he bought second hand allowed his body to conform to the cushions and he let himself melt into the worn fibers .
    Being a teacher in Kansas City wasn’t easy, especially teaching high school aged kids . His parents had warned him, but after attending school for five years at Kansas State University , the memories he held of his high school career were good ones, and he couldn’t imagine that it could be as bad as they say. His parents weren’t exactly right, but they weren’t exactly wrong either. A good number of the kids were challenging, to say the least, but there were also a good number of students who were genuinely interested in learning. The main problem, he’d found, were the parents. Even a large number of the good kids came from dysfunctional homes. It made his job more difficult, and he’d thought about trying to find another gig in a different—better—part of town, but each time the ideological side of him kicked in with thoughts of helping these less fortunate kids get a good start on life.
    Just as he unfolded the paper, he let out a harsh sigh at the remembrance of the insurance paperwork that he needed to fill out for work . He hesitated for a moment, briefly thinking to himself that he could just do it in the morning, but he knew all too well that he’d forget, just like he had the last three nights. Realizing that he couldn’t afford to procrastinate any longer, he threw his paper on the coffee table and forced the couch to release him.
    “Why the hell do we have to change insurance all the time anyway?” he grumbled to himself.
    In his small, but quaint, one bedroom apartment, it was a short walk from the couch to the countertop that separated the living room from the kitchen. As he reached for the papers, the familiar feeling of pressure in his head came upon him. He let the vision come.
    As if his eyes were closed, he watched the scene play out as if he were there. He’d seen this vision a dozen or so times in the last month, so his anxiety was lessened than it had been initially. He watched as a short black haired girl with pale white skin walked down a dirty back street. It was light outside, but the sky was hazy and seemed to be filled with dust or smoke. He watched as she stepped up to a man that was standing just