Half Dead World: Book One from the Apocalypse Tales by Adrienne Hargrove (little readers txt) 📗

Mr. Daxter ended up as our chemistry teacher. I personally think he choose to stay in Elizabeth just so he could be your teacher and torture you.

I laugh “You’re joking, right?”

He turns his palms up and shrugs “Only partly, he definitely doesn’t like you.”

“But why hate just me? I’m sure your parents were involved in the movement to stop the laws.”

“If it is of any comfort; he definitely doesn’t like me either. He’s just not as blatant about it. And, yes, my parents were involved, but their role was mostly financial. They were not figure heads like yours. Not to mention, I try to keep a low profile at school. I definitely don’t admit to praying in the middle of class.”

I let out a sigh that borders a growl. “It was one of my more stupid moments. But I don’t get it, how do you know all this stuff?”

“What I don’t get, is how come you don’t know it! I mean, I know we were younger at the time. But it was happening all around you.”

I thought back to when it would have all been taking place. A flash of a battered little face enters into my mind. “Fin” his name comes out with the quiet exhalation of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Jackson raises his eyebrows but doesn’t question me. That’s why I didn’t notice the entire nations, drama because my own tiny little world had collapsed when I lost Fin. Even after I found Kirra, I still missed him, and the hurt was still there. I stayed away like he asked and even, knowing what I now know, I can’t say what I would have done. If I had told his secret, would it have made his life any better or would the state have just sent him away, maybe to someplace even worse. I remember being so confused about Fin when I was a little girl, like I only had this tiny piece of a very big puzzle. That’s exactly how I feel right now, and not just about what happened with Fin today. This day is throwing me; Jackson, Fin, my parents having secrets, and even Jackson’s overly intense little brother Wilder. I am feeling completely at odds with reality. Suddenly Jackson’s lips are on mine and I can’t grasp a coherent thought to save my life. His hands are on my shoulders and his lips are gentle against mine, and then they are gone. His hands are still on my shoulders as I look up to find him smiling down at me. And then the dumbest thing I’ve ever said flies out of my mouth on a shaky exhalation. “What did you do that for?”

His smile broadens. “Well… you looked so sad and lost… I thought it might clear your head.

It did not clear my head! In fact, I think it made it worse. Now, on top of total confusion my lips are buzzing, my heart is pounding out of my chest and I feel certain that I am starting to sweat. All in all, it has to be one of the best moments of my life, so I grin back at him.

“For the sake of complete, honesty, you look really pretty tonight, and I’ve wanted to kiss you since you walked in the front door.”

I can feel my cheeks burn with a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. I’m sure he can see it even in the shadows of the softly lit garden path. I decide to redirect his attention to the topic at hand.

“I guess I was just living in my own little bubble when the religious acts were making their way through the government. I am not really interested in politics now, so I’m pretty sure I had zero interest as a twelve-year-old. But my parents had to have purposefully kept quiet in front of me. Why would they do that?”

“You were only twelve. I bet they were just trying to protect you from the ugly truth of what was happening in our country.”

“Yeah, but why haven’t they said anything since then? They know how much trouble I have had with Mr. Daxter. They could have at the very least warned me. “By the way, Haven, your chemistry teacher is psychotic, and he hates our entire family.”

Jackson blows out deep breath and shoves his hands in his pockets. “My guess is they didn’t want to tell you too much about the conflict until you were certain of your beliefs. They are probably afraid that if you know about all the negative consequences many believers face, it will push you in the other direction.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know what I do or don’t believe? I haven’t talked to you about it.”

“Haven, I sit at worship with your parents…we pray for you every week.”

In one part of my brain, I know I should find this statement endearing that a group of people some of which I don’t even know spend time praying for me. Instead, the other part of my brain the much larger portion is enraged. I feel betrayed and humiliated to know that they were sitting around sympathizing with my parents. We pray that GOD would save poor Chris and Kelly’s heathen daughter from destruction. I am about to turn on Jackson and tell him what I think of them talking about me behind my back. Then we hear his mom calling us to come back to the house. I quickly stifle my anger, after all it isn’t really Jackson’s fault; it is my parents. We walk towards the house in silence as I think about how best to confront my parents about everything I have learned tonight. Before we make it to the house Jackson stops me with a light touch on my arm. “Hey…I hope I didn’t freak you out back there… with the kiss.”

My eyes widen