On Edge Read Online Free Page B

saw him drop the cans into his antique doctor’s bag, snap it closed, and sling the homemade shoulder strap over his back. He then ran at the wall and leapt, his quick feet and forward momentum carrying him up the face and close enough to the top to vault over the ledge to safety—all without taking buckshot to the ass. Nice.
    Not that he couldn’t stand to learn a few tricks—
    â€œLL! Let’s go.”
    I brought my attention back to Surge as he took my hand, and we jumped.
    ***
    Livia Menesa stood in my kitchen a week or so later, munching on the last bite of her Pop-Tart while waiting for me to walk with her to school. As I entered the room, I caught the tail-end of my father’s explanation/rant as to why I didn’t attend the first week of classes and winced. Poor Liv and her bleeding ears. Pops could go on for hours on any topic, let alone one he felt strongly about.
    I poured two cups of coffee and handed one to her.
    â€œAnd I was right, too!” Pops was saying. “Two shootings last week before they put metal detectors at the doors and security in the parking lot. What if one of my kids had been killed? I’d go Rambo on that damned school board! You can trust me on that.”
    â€œPops.” I groaned, as I grabbed the coffee cup from his hand and set it down. I’d cleaned up enough sloshed coffee after the arm-waving tirade he performed for me an hour earlier—a performance I didn’t wish to repeat. “Rambo? Really? You need to watch your blood pressure.”
    I had no idea if he had a blood pressure problem, but if he didn’t, he would soon if he kept working himself up so much.
    â€œHey Liv,” I added.
    She acknowledged my greeting with a smile and winked before turning her attention to her cup of coffee. I could tell by her pinched face after each sip that Pops brewed it. Puts hair in your nose , he’d say. Why anyone would want that was beyond me.
    â€œMy blood pressure is fine. It’s my anxiety that’ll put me into an early grave.”
    â€œThe gangs are targeting each other, not random people. And the school is better prepared now for any violence. It’ll be fine.” I sipped from my cup and gulped. Yup, he made the coffee. I longed for Warp’s mud.
    â€œAnd you can’t get caught in the crossfire?”
    â€œI could get caught in the crossfire anywhere. But I’m quick and I’m smart and I have two older brothers who are well respected.” Though I wasn’t so sure about Warp anymore. The more he changed the more worried I became that one day he’d make enemies with one of the gangs on the other side of town. The gun-toting kind.
    Pops sighed, his shoulders slumping over his coffee mug. “What kind of father can’t take his kids away from danger?”
    Livia shifted uncomfortably, and I smiled to reassure her that things weren’t going to get too sappy. “A good, hardworking father. Three Rivers isn’t so bad. And besides, I’m sixteen. By the time the streets are overrun with criminals and the cops become trigger-happy and jaded, I’ll be in college like Ander.”
    He snorted, but patted my hand to let me know he appreciated my “go Pops” cheerleading.
    I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and squeezed. “I’ve got my cell, Pops. Call if you get worried.”
    ***
    â€œYour dad’s really freaking, huh?”
    Liv and I walked to school together every day at the end of last year, and though I missed out on the first week this year, our routine picked up as usual. Which was good. Without Liv, I’d have to hang out with my brother and his friends.
    â€œYeah. Pops has been hard on himself since Mom died, but with this school merger, it looks like his guilt is getting worse. He’s got a job that has him gone for awhile, so that’s not helping. God. You shoulda seen him last week when I came downstairs dressed for