Earth: Population 2 (Paradise Lost Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

streetlights as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
    My world and everything in it seemed so small, so full of limitations. The horizon lay so far away. I’d never left New England, and I never would. The farthest I’d been was a wedding in southern Massachusetts and a field trip to the northern coast of Maine. Hailey was going all the way to UCLA in California. Knowing her, she probably wouldn’t come back except for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
    The driver’s side door opened, and I crossed my arms to show my impatience. “’Bout time. Did you get your sweater back?”
    Mike climbed in Hailey’s seat. “Hey, Juliette. What’s going on?”
    “Nothing.” I stared at the horizon, acutely aware of his sweaty arm brushing against mine. Muscly guys were not my cup of tea. In fact, I didn’t like tea at all.
    He rested his hand on the parking brake in between us and tapped his thick fingers. “Nothing, huh?”
    “Yeah.” Conversation with him was so stimulating. I reached in my purse and found a stick of bubble gum before I died of boredom.
    “Listen, I know we don’t talk much. I was hoping to get to know you better.”
    He was hoping to get lucky before he went off to college. That’s what he was hoping to do. I turned toward him. “Where’s Hailey?”
    “Talking with Brooke. I thought I’d come over and keep you company. You looked lonely.”
    Great. So he pitied me. I turned back to the windshield. “I’m fine. I was just watching the horizon.”
    “Great.” He draped his arm over the edge of my seat, making me want to squirm. “Did you see my latest wrestling match?”
    He sounded so eager, I actually felt bad for him. “No. Sorry. I was working.”
    “Oh well, you missed out. I went up against this guy who must have been a sumo wrestler in a previous life. This dude was pure muscle, the champion from last year. But, he had one weak spot—the way he left his right side open, and I could see it from a mile away.”
    He wasn’t interested in getting to know me; he wanted an audience. While Mike rambled on and on about how he beat the impossible, I waited for an appropriate moment to end the conversation without being too rude.
    “The crowd cheered when I won. I could tell they were all rooting for me, the underdog.”
    He never stopped talking. It was like some horrible nightmare where I was stuck watching the sports channel and couldn’t turn it off.
    Before I knew it, he leaned over, and his hot breath fell on my cheek. “Maybe you can come see the next match.”
    He smelled like barbecue chips and sweat. I fumbled with the seat belt as he leaned closer. A squishy, warm sensation touched my earlobe. His tongue.
    I spazzed out and fell against the passenger door, clutching my contaminated ear. I was better off outside with the aliens’ suction cups.
    “What the hell?”
    “I’m sorry.” His eyes widened in embarrassment, like I’d caught him with his pants down, which was actually kind of funny, despite my sticky ear.
    “Why did you do that?”
    “Hailey said you wanted a little action before we all went off to college. I thought…. Wait! Where are you going?”
    I opened the passenger door, anger boiling inside me. Hailey sat on the hood of Brooke’s red Honda, laughing. I stomped over to them, reminding myself Hailey had meant well, so strangling her would only satisfy my rage.
    Their laughter stopped, and both of them pointed at the sky.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
    NIGHT LIGHTS
     
     
    June 23, 2013, 7:45 p.m.
     
    Blue, green, and red waves of light streaked the horizon like some giant painter had swished his brush across the sky. The swirl zigzagged twice over the mountains in the south before trailing off into a haze.
    We didn’t have astronomy class at Ridgewood High, but I’d seen similar pictures in a book I’d bought at a yard sale a few summers back for two dollars. I’d memorized every page, and that particular one was my favorite. I never thought I’d