Dreaming of Antigone Read Online Free Page A

we’re partially hidden by the shadows of Mom’s hanging ferns. Part of me wants to get away from him, to yell for help and run back into the light, where the neighbors can see. The other part doesn’t want to move.
    â€œAre you bleeding?” he whispers, his mouth close to my ear. It sends shivers all the way down my neck.
    â€œShh,” I whisper back. I guess I’ve made my decision. I’d rather stay hidden in the shadows with the addict than risk a scolding from one of the neighbors.
    We’re both silent, me with my hand throbbing in pain and my heart pounding from standing so close to this boy. His skin is damp with sweat, and I try to put a little distance between us. Unfortunately, he grabs my hand so he can look at it.
    I can’t see from where we are who has come outside next door. Mrs. Dawes is partially deaf and legally blind, but her husband is the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. He was the one who told Mom that Iris was doing drugs. If only she’d bothered to listen to him.
    I hold my breath and pray that Alex will keep his mouth shut.
    It seems like forever until we hear an elderly man’s cough, and his front door opens and closes again.
    I let my breath out and pull my hand away from Alex.
    â€œDid you get glass in there?” he asks.
    My palm stings when I move my fingers. “I think so. I’ll clean it off inside. Are you hurt?”
    â€œJust banged up a little. Sorry I tripped over you.” He steps back, thankfully. Finally, he’s out of my bubble. “Why in the hell were you in the road?”
    â€œToo many trees,” I say. I shiver, now that his warmth is gone.
    â€œWe can blame all of this on the trees, then,” he says, trying to make a joke. But I don’t smile. He notices. “Will your parents get mad about the telescope?”
    I shrug. If I can’t fix it myself, then I won’t be able to see the meteor shower in two weeks. “They probably won’t even notice,” I say. But that’s the main reason I’m anxious to get my license. I want to be able to drive out to the fields south of the university and watch the Lyrids.
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    I wish he’d stop saying that. “Look, I’d better get inside. My mom will be waking up soon. I’ll see you around.”
    He rubs his hand over his head. I wonder if it’s because he’s still not used to the short cut. It makes him look so much different. He no longer looks like a triplet of Thing One and Thing Two. “Take care of that hand,” he says.
    He takes off from the porch, finishing his run. I watch him disappear into the darkness and suddenly wonder what he was doing in my neighborhood in the middle of the night. He and his moms live south of the university, according to Iris. And he never did tell me what his nightmares were about.

CHAPTER 5
    Mom left whole wheat French toast and hard-boiled eggs for me this morning. I give both to Sophie. She hasn’t been eating her regular food much lately, but I think it’s just because she’s getting old. I hope my mom’s breakfasts are nutritious enough for an elderly Siberian husky. She seems to like them, and I love seeing her tail wag when I bring her breakfast on Mom’s good china.
    Craig catches me coming out of my bedroom with the plate, but he only smiles and shakes his head. “So that’s how you keep your girlish figure,” he says.
    I roll my eyes and take the dish back to the kitchen.
    My stepfather follows me. “What did you do to your hand?” He picks it up and turns it over, palm up, so he can look at the bandage. Before Iris died, he was never very touchy or affectionate with me. Now it seems every day he finds a reason to hug me.
    â€œSplinter,” I say, pulling my hand back. “Have to run or I’ll be late for the bus.”
    â€œI can take you. I don’t mind.”
    It’s been a pain in the butt