Drinking Life (Keeper of the Water Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

staring at me throughout the game and while I was in the middle of fighting the soldiers. I tell them it wasn’t that big a deal but the two women glance at each other. It only lasts a split second, but I can tell there’s something behind it.
    “What are you not telling me now?” I ask.
    “Nothing,” my mother says dismissively. “Tell us more about this old man. What did he look like? Have you ever seen him before? Did you talk to him?”
    She rambles the questions frantically, growing more upset with each thing she asks. Celeste finally cuts her off.
    “Tell me about the attack. Why did you fight instead of run?” Celeste asks. When the cop asked me that same question, he shook his head in clear disapproval. While a tiny groan escapes my mother at the mention of fighting, Celeste’s eyes widen in excitement.
    “It felt like instinct, I didn’t even think about it. I just reacted,” I say. “I saw the soldiers—I saw that Cassie froze—and I just reacted.”
    I shrug my shoulders. Any sane person would take my answer as in sane but Celeste smiles. I think I sense pride in that smile. I’m not sure if that unexpected pride makes me more or less uncomfortable than my mother’s fear. We join Dad and Cassie, who’s wrapping up a phone call.
    “No, the party isn’t happening anymore, make sure nobody shows up,” Cassie hisses before flipping her cell phone closed.
    Cassie has apparently recovered from her ‘trauma.’ You might think she’d rush into her mother’s protective arms, especially if she realized how well her mother could protect . Instead, she sighs at the sight of Celeste and folds her arms across her chest.
    “See what happens when you skip one of my games? All hell breaks loose,” Cassie whines.
    Even I want to wring Cassie’s neck for the way she speaks to her mother but I would never dare lay my hands on her. The number one enemy of most girls my age is their mothers but that’s not how it is between me and my mom. Sure, we aren’t exactly the best of friends but that’s probably due to the fact that we’re so different. I like to be active, I like the outdoors—I have my father to blame for that—but my mother hardly leaves the house and always seems nervous when she does. But I know how much she loves me and accepts me for who I am. I reciprocate those feelings for her, differences or not. But Cassie looks for any reason to make her mother the ‘bad guy’ and Celeste just shrugs it off. Her level of patience for Cassie might set an all-time record for the mother/daughter relationship.
    “I’ve been talking with Katina recently about how dangerous this area is and I think today’s events confirm that,” Celeste says. My mother nods in agreement and I already know what’s coming. “Plus, business hasn’t been as good here as expected, am I right, Perry?”
    Dad nods solemnly. I know business hasn’t been great but I doubt it’s as bad as Celeste says. I have a feeling her opinion of this area changed once I mentioned the old man.
    “I think it’s time to move on,” she finishes.
    “Again?” Cassie whines. “But we’ve barely been here a year; I finally worked my way into the right group of friends.”
    “Don’t worry, dear, you’ve always been good at making friends wherever we go,” Celeste says. Cassie sighs, though the noise is mixed with a bit of a grunt and a hint of a shriek. “And I know just the place where we can start over. We’re all going to love it.”

CHAPTER THREE

SIX MONTHS LATER
    “I hate it here. This school is awful and all the girls here are major losers,” Cassie whines to me as we walk into school. She swats at the air in front of her. “And is it me or are there more bugs here than any other place we’ve been?”
    I can’t even see what bug she’s trying to smash—I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing was there and she was just looking for something to complain about. She’s been extra miserable since we moved to the Pocono