Crave. Melissa Darnell

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СКАЧАТЬ my parents wanted for me.

      So why the sudden attitude from him all the time? Whatever. Dylan’s issues with the Clann and its leadership weren’t my problem. Right now, my problem was figuring out what was wrong with Savannah.

      No way was it normal for her to miss a whole week of school. I couldn’t remember a single day when I hadn’t been able to catch at least one glimpse of her in the halls between classes. She’d always been around somewhere, just waiting to suck the air out of my lungs and hit me with that ache in my chest and gut every time I saw her. I needed information. Fast.

      I waited till algebra ended, then followed Anne to the outer walkway. “Hey, Anne. Wait a minute.”

      She looked over her shoulder at me, huffed, then walked away faster.

      Fighting back a snarl, I jogged to close the distance. She never stopped walking even after I caught up with her. Not that it was hard to keep up with her short legs.

      “Listen, I….” Okay, how should I ask for updates about someone without giving the wrong impression?

      With a sigh, Anne jerked to a halt. “You know, your sense of self-entitlement really knows no end, does it?”

      Huh?

      She glared at me. “Right. Too many big words. Moving on. I suppose you’re trying to be nosy and ask about a certain sick person?”

      Surprised she’d already guessed what I wanted, I nodded in silence.

      She hesitated, as if thinking about what to say. “I’ll tell you, but you’ve gotta tell me something first.”

      “Okay?”

      “Why do you care?”

      “Uh …” Now how was I supposed to answer that one? “Let’s get something straight, Coleman. Savannah is really nice.”

      “I know.” She’d have to be to pick you for a friend, I added silently.

      “So she deserves someone nice. Not a player who just sees her as some sort of challenge.”

      Was that how Savannah thought of me, too … as a player? I shrugged off the question for now. “Aren’t you kind of laying it on thick here? All I’m asking is if she’s okay. Nothing more. No big deal.” I tried my smoothest smile on her, the one that even won over the dragon ladies in the front office.

      “Fine. In that case …”

      My heart missed a beat.

      “She’s not dead.” She turned and walked away.

      Something hot and furious that had been building in my chest all week exploded. I yelled to her, “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

      “Yep. That’s all you get, Coleman,” she yelled back without stopping or turning her head. “You want more information, go buy it from somebody else.”

      Unbelievable.

      It took a few seconds for me to calm down enough to see straight. When I could, I stomped off toward the main hallway and my locker. Too bad it was the off-season and we were mostly focusing on weight and cardio training. Otherwise I could have at least hit something during football practice.

      In the main hall, I spotted one of Savannah’s other friends. Michelle something. She was an office aide during first period every day and was a whole lot nicer than Evil Anne.

      I took a chance, leaning against the locker beside Michelle’s. I gave her a smile and hoped it worked better this time around. “Hey, Michelle, how’s it going?”

      She turned pink, always a good sign, and giggled. “Fine, and you?”

      “Good.” Switching strategies, I tried not to show any personal interest this time. “Listen, some of the girls at lunch were talking about your friend Savannah Colbert. They said she’s missed a lot of school this week, and they’re pretty worried about her. Sounded like they were thinking about sending her a get-well card or something. I told them I knew you and would ask how she was doing. You wouldn’t happen to have any updates I could pass along, would you?”

      “Oh! That’s nice of them. I heard she’s doing okay. I’m not sure when she’s supposed to be back at school, though.”

      That wasn’t the kind of news I wanted to hear. “Huh. Sounds like she caught something pretty serious, then. Did you get to talk to her?”

      “No, just her grandma. You know, Mrs. Evans didn’t actually say what was wrong with Savannah, now that I think about it.” Her smile turned hesitant. “If you want, I could call them again tonight and find out more details.”

      Her head tilted to the side like a bird’s as she inspected my expression. She was getting too curious. Not good. “Aw, it’s no big deal. I’m sure the girls were just a little worried about her. I’ll tell them she’s okay.” I straightened away from the lockers. “But hey, let me know if you hear any updates?”

      I gave her another smile, waited till she nodded in agreement, then I walked off with what I hoped was a casual wave.

      Why did I feel even more worried now?

       Savannah

      Fire and ice. They were my entire world for days. That and weird conversations I overheard between Mom and Nanna. Or maybe they were dreams.

      “Sav’s never been sick like this. Never,” Mom whispered sometime during the first night. “Should we take her—”

      “Take her where, Joan? If they do blood tests …” Nanna murmured.

      “Oh, Lord, you’re right. No telling what they might find. And we can’t call the Clann’s doctor, either. He’d tell the Clann, and that’s the last kind of trouble we need. So … what do we do?”

      “I don’t know. Everything I try makes her fever shoot up higher. It shouldn’t do that. I’ve gone through all the books, read everything twice. But she’s too special. There just isn’t anything about her. There never has been. We’ve always been so lucky with her. She’s never been sick in a way I couldn’t fix.”

      “Are you giving up?” Mom’s voice rose to a near shriek on the last word.

      “Shh, no, of course not! But maybe you should call her father. Maybe his kind would know what to do.”

      His kind? Nanna must really hate Dad.

      A long silence made me wonder if I’d fallen asleep. Then Mom finally replied in an odd tone that made her sound even more worried than before. “Are you sure we should involve them? If we ask for their advice, they may think things are out of control. They might want to get really involved from now on.”

      “We’ll have to take that risk, Joan. It’s ask for their help or nothing else.”

      Nothing else? What did that mean? Why did Nanna make those two simple words sound so scary?

      I thought I heard СКАЧАТЬ