Whisper (Novella) Read Free Page A

we got home last night, I scoured the Net for anything about Micah Wyatt. He doesn’t leave a lot of online footprints, though. But, don’t worry, I’ll find some.”
    I’d looked into him online, too, and I’d wondered if he was just good at covering up his cyber tracks. But why would he do that? Maybe he was a super private person except for his anonymous TellTales.
    Diana stepped onto one of the cinder blocks near her wall, leaning on the stones as she kept talking on the phone and looking up at me. “I
did
find something out through the grapevine about Micah. When he left the party, he wasn’t planning on going anyplace else to scope out girls.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œWell, aren’t you just the coolest about that? It means he wasn’t interested in anyone else last night.”
    My pulse should’ve been jumping, but it seemed to be playing it just as laid back as Micah had been, leaning against that wall. I’d even started to wonder if I was more taken by his gamesmanship—and the way he said things on TellTale—than by the reality of him.
    â€œWhere did you hear this gossip?” I asked Diana.
    â€œOn Facebook. I was scrolling through my friends who were there, too, and . . .” She shrugged. “That’s how I know.”
    She paused, and I realized that Diana didn’t know all those “friends” very well. It was almost like these sites we went on were windows that allowed us to look into them, fogging up the panes as we watched everyone else laughing and talking with one another. Had Diana always been on the fringes like I was these days?
    I felt a little sorry for her and smiled in unity as I leaned on the sill. And I was just about to let her in on the newest TellTale post when the sound of heavy boots pounded on the concrete, coming around the corner of my stepdad’s house.
    Both Diana and I clamped our lips as the kid who did yard jobs for my dad brushed by the yucca plant that shielded a hose and then reached for the coil. He kept his head down, a black knit cap pulled low over his brow. All I knew was that his name was Bret, and I’d seen him once before in the backyard a few days ago when it’d been drizzling and my stepdad had been hurling directions at him about reopening the pool area when the weather got better. The guy’s back had been turned to me then, and he’d been all knit cap, bulky army jacket, jeans, and work boots.
    He looked about the same today, but this time, as he noticed that he wasn’t alone, he glanced from Diana to me, revealing dark eyes and high cheekbones.
    With the phone still to my ear, I darted back from the window so he wouldn’t catch me in my towel and bra, but I was pretty sure I was too late—especially as Diana giggled over the line.
    Then I heard my stepdad’s voice from somewhere outside. “How long does it take to drag a hose over here?”
    I heard a rustle, the hiss of a hose slipping over the pavement, the retreat of those boots, then Diana’s voice on the phone.
    â€œCoast is clear, you slut.”
    I dropped the towel and grabbed a long T-shirt, pulling it over me before I went back to the window. I checked to see that the yard guy really was gone.
    Diana was still amused. “You should’ve seen your face! Panic at its finest!”
    â€œIt was instinct,” I said, lowering my voice into the speaker. “He startled me.”
    â€œWell, don’t you worry yourself about him getting an eyeful. He’s not exactly into girls, if you know what I’m talking about. And he sure did scoot on out of here at the sight of you. It was like you insulted him with your bra straps.” She sighed, leaning on the stone wall again like she was trying to catch another glimpse of him. “What a waste, huh?”
    My heartbeat was slamming, and I was out of breath. Surprise can do that to a person.
    â€œThey say he’s