Emerge: The Awakening Read Online Free Page B

archeologist and my dad’s a cultural anthropologist, which is why we’ve moved so much. My older sister, Joscelin, is their biological daughter, but she’s busy doing her residency at a hospital in Bali.” Allie really missed her big sister and wished she could have seen Joss one more time before fleeing the hemisphere. 
    “So, who was that with you back at the dock?” Aidan asked absently.
    “My mom.”
    “What? How?” he frowned.
    “What do you mean how?” Allie laughed. “The usual way. Mom without a baby, baby without a mom. Sign some papers, instant family.”
    “Right. I ah...she’s an archeologist, huh?” he rambled.
    “Yeah, we’ve spent a lot of time on some cool sites, but my favorite was the dig in Luxor where I got to visit Hatshepsut’s Temple and the Valley of the Kings and Queens.”
    “So your mom is the new Egyptian curator at the museum.” He grinned.
    “Yeah, how’d you know?”
    “My dad is head curator. He was totally psyched to get her here.” A dark shadow crossed his face, like he was struggling to put fake Aidan back in place.
    “You’re kinda strange,” Allie said bluntly.
    “Back atcha, sweetheart.”
    “No, no. Don’t you sweetheart me. I’ve seen you with all your idiot girls. Don’t lump me in with the rest of your sweethearts,” she mocked.
    “I wouldn’t dare,” he laughed. “I guess I do that when I can’t remember their names, but I couldn’t possibly forget yours, Lex.”
    “Clearly your memory is failing you again. It’s Allie .”
    “You sound like my friend, Wendy. She tells me I’m an idiot all the time.”
    “You know you can be yourself around me, right?” she asked carefully.
    “I’m beginning to see that.”
    “You’ll have to introduce me to Wendy. She sounds smart.”
    “She is a very gifted cellist and was just accepted to the Cologne University of Music in Germany a few weeks ago,” he said sadly.
    Allie could see how much he missed his girlfriend. Despite the strange vibe between them, she was intrigued with Aidan. He was just as fascinated with her as she was with him, but the overwhelming relief she felt just being near him was enough to tell her they would either be really good for each other or really, really bad.
    <><><>

 
    CHAPTER
    FOUR  
    Allie wandered across the courtyard after her English Lit class to wait for Sasha and Chloe. She took a seat at one of the many fountains dotting the perfectly manicured Cliffton grounds. The noises of the city center were muffled by the trees and the lake breeze that was ever present along the shore.
    “Crap,” she muttered as a striking blond headed her way. “Why does every school have mean girls?” 
    “You’ve just identified their queen.” Allie recognized the voice from several of her classes.
    “Vince, right?” she smiled. “I’m Allie—”
    “You’ve been here nearly a month, Short Stuff, everyone knows you.” He grinned. “That is Brianna Spelman Prentice.” He crouched down beside her. “She’s the great-great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller and she scares the hell out of me. So, I’m going to hide behind you and this fountain if you don’t mind. I have no shame.”
    There was something about Vince that reminded her of Gavin. It was his gentle confidence and the way he looked directly into her eyes when he spoke. He felt it; that awkward discomfort, but he brushed it aside as if it were nothing.
    “Vincent, hi. Walk me to class?” Brianna asked sweetly.
    “Sorry, I’m hanging with Allie right now.” 
    “I’ll come find you at lunch then.” She shot him a brilliant smile. Allie might as well have been wallpaper.
    “Brianna, I’ve told you I don’t date Cliffton girls.”
    “I guess that doesn’t include trailer trash?”
    “Not cool,” he growled.
    “Vince, it’s fine,” Allie said. “I’m sorry, Brianna. I’ve never lived in a trailer, but I did live in a fabulous tree house in the Amazon. Does that count?”
    “Nice!”