Circumstellar Read Online Free

than anything, I wanted to say “yes.” I wanted to walk hand in hand all the way back to my small, stinky house, smiling all the way. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to inconvenience himself for me or to walk home from my house in the dark. The lack of street lights on every corner was no big deal to me, but I knew it would be hard for him. And somewhere in my mind, a small part of me didn’t want to appear weak.
    “No, that’s all right,” I declined at last, a small note of disappointment in my voice, “but thanks for the offer. Really.”
    “Are you sure?” I nodded and he smiled at me. “Okay, Ingrid. You better be careful. I don’t want any bad calls in the night.”
    “Don’t worry, I will,” I said, smiling back. “You be careful, too.”
    “All right,” he said, his eyes lingering on mine for a few seconds before finally turning away. When he started walking, I turned to leave. Someone really needed to tell my stomach gymnastics tryouts were over. I was going to have to do something about this before I developed some serious gastric problem.
    It was a nice time for a walk. The sunset bathed all the houses in a pretty orange glow. The lights in many homes started to come on, and in some windows, I could see families sitting down ready for dinner. Must be nice . I hummed wistfully as I continued on my way. Other than me, it was really quiet out here. Not another soul in sight. Kind of eerie, actually.
    I gripped the straps of my bag with clenched fists and quickened my pace. Maybe I should have let Ty walk me home. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes darted around taking in every shadow, every dark corner. The only sounds were the wind rustling in the trees and my own pulse. It was so quiet. Something’s wrong! The hair on the back of my neck stood on ends, and I broke out into a run. My feet pounded into the concrete while I plowed full speed down the sidewalk. Almost there. I’m almost there. There! I could see my house just at the end of the stre – Pow!
    I cried out as I slammed into the ground, my knees and hands scrapping roughly into the concrete. Something hit me in the back – hard. I stared at the ground for a second trying to catch my breath and steady myself.
    “Damn! That was one big bump in the path! These damn humans need to watch where they’re going!”
    I froze, eyes widening. I wasn’t alone. Someone did run into me: someone big and stupid sounding. And what was with that weird accent. It was like this guy had lived in at least five different countries.
    “You’re the one who needs to watch where they’re going, Plumbarco. We finished what we came here to do. Now you’re just making unnecessary messes.”
    The new voice washed over me and tingled all the way down my spine. Deep and smooth like fine silk. He had the same accent as the other guy, but boy, what a voice.
    “Come on, Farron, I haven’t seen a human in years. Let me have a bit of fun, will you? The Lady won’t mind.”
    “She will mind if we are any later than we already are. She’s waited a long time for this, and her patience is wearing thin.”
    From the sounds of things, whoever this Farron guy was, he was obviously much more intelligent than this Plumber-whatever.
    “Fine, fine. Have it your way. Always ruining the fun,” I heard the Plumber mutter. “Guess I’ll just have to hurry up and kill this one.” Oh, God . “Would’ve liked to play a bit.”
    My mind sped into overdrive. What should I do? Fight? No, from what I could figure, this guy could probably chokehold Becky. Lay still and play possum? I don’t think so. That left me with one option. Run. I braced myself, ready to spring to my feet and take off like a bat out of hell.
    “I think you’d better let the girl go.”
    Huh? Who was that? I paused from my escape plan, wondering if another creep had come to join the party. At least, this time it sounded like someone that – hopefully – didn’t want to kill