Breathe into Me Read Online Free Page B

could have killed somebody driving like that.”
    I bristled at her lie. I hadn’t had a drop of drink all night, there was no way I smelled of alcohol.
    “I could have used your help tonight,” she continued, “but no, you had to go and spend your money on booze and parties.”
    It was an old argument, and one I didn’t feel like having again. “I’m going to bed. You can yell at me in the morning.”
    “Don’t you sass me, girl! This is my roof you live under; I pay your bills.”
    A sharp retort rose and died on my lips. Diana had long since paid off the mobile home. In fact, the “rent” I paid to her exceeded any expenses for the small plot of land in the park. There was always something I had to pay, some bill she’d wave in my face for something that my mother or little brother needed. If I didn’t help, then I was a bad daughter or sister.
    There was never enough, at the end of the month, for me to afford my own place. Rent in this part of Mississippi was absurdly cheap, yet despite holding down two jobs I never had more than two nickels to rub together.
    “Good night, Diana.”
    My grandmother made an angry noise when I used her given name. “You are so … so…” She couldn’t seem to find the right word, and I didn’t care. Hurrying to my room, I shut the door on her and picked up my headphones and old iPod.
    Flopping onto the twin bed, I picked out my “Catharsis” playlist on the iPod and turned the volume up loud enough to drown out everything. Even as Skrillex blared through the tiny earbuds, my eyelids grew heavy and I lay back against the pillow. I dabbed at one eye, picking up the excess fluid there before it could turn into a tear, then pulled the comforter over me and fell into a fitful slumber.

CHAPTER THREE
    My job as a grocery bagger sucked, but at least the constant action made time go by quicker.
    “Paper or plastic?” I asked automatically as I began organizing the groceries coming down the line. I was on my last pull for the day, only an hour before I got done, and I was itching to leave. When I didn’t get an answer to my question, I looked up to get their attention, only to see Everett standing in front of me. I froze for a second, shocked to see him, and then managed to come to my senses. “Paper or plastic?” I repeated, albeit in a less forceful voice.
    “Paper, please.”
    Swallowing, I bent my head to the task at hand, piling groceries into the paper bags.
You knew you couldn’t keep away from him forever, not in a town this tiny
. As far as I could tell, this was a simple grocery run, and, by the selection, he ate pretty healthy.
    “Told you I’d see you around.”
    I looked up to gauge his expression and found him studying me. His words didn’t sound like a threat, but after the incident in the bar I’d been on hyper alert lately. “Yes, you did,” I agreed cautiously, still a bit mortified. In the daylight, he was even cuter than I’d thought. He’d seen me at my lowest, and I waited nervously for him to mention it.
    “What are you doing after work?”
    I stared at him, surprised by the question. Something about him was different than the other boys around here, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. He dressed well, his dark, shaggy hair hung almost to his shoulders, and that dimple was prominently back on his cheek. It pained me to turn down someone this cute, but I shook my head. “I have another job.”
    “Oh.” He paused as I loaded the cart. “What about after that?”
    “Sleep, hopefully.”
    “What about tomorrow?”
    “More work.”
    He shrugged. I was trying to let him down gently, but he was persistent. “What’s there to do around here?”
    “Not much.”
    “If I gave you my number, would you let me know if you remember anything fun to do?”
    I frowned at him, trying to figure out whether he was serious. That I hadn’t scared him away after the incident in the bar boggled my mind. Yet here he was, wanting to give me