Runt Read Online Free Page A

She glared at Ethan in particular, as if this behavior was more expected from an older brother.
    But wasn’t it obvious? If Ethan hadn’t joined in, next time Jamie would do it to him.
    Go along to get along, right?
    What choice did he have?
    But it all seemed to be forgotten at the beach today, even if Jamie was being especially mean to his brother right now, picking on his fear of the storm.
    â€œWell, I’m going to tell Mom.” Benjamin put down his Boggle pad and stood up. “And you’re going to get in trouble.”
    He did everything a kid brother should never do. Hewas literally asking for it, and he kept coming back for more. Jamie imitated his voice and told him to go ahead and tell his mommy how scared he was. Benjamin ran up the stairs.
    â€œYou wanna play?” Jamie asked Ethan. He shook the Boggle cube again and started writing down his words. The weird thing was that when his little brother wasn’t around, Jamie was really pretty nice.
    â€œSure.” Ethan rolled off the couch and sat cross-legged across from Jamie, just as a flash of lightning brightened the room, followed a few moments later by a loud clap of thunder and an immediate downpour of rain.
    â€œWow, that is coming closer.” Jamie stood up. The rain was deafening.
    Both boys ran up the stairs. It was four in the afternoon and the sky was completely dark. No one upstairs seemed worried.
    â€œRemember the summer it rained the whole week?” Jamie’s mom was saying.
    Ethan’s mom had a book in her lap but she wasn’t reading. “Yeah, until the very last day the sun came out, and we had to pack up and leave.” She looked over at Ethan. “You were just a baby. And Benjamin wasn’t even born yet.”
    â€œBut I was a year later!” Benjamin shouted.
    â€œWhat a genius,” Jamie felt compelled to add.
    It always surprised Ethan that Jamie’s parents never said anything about the nasty comments and jokes Jamie made about his little brother.
    The two dads were standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter watching the rain through the wide sliding glass doors. “We’ll have to ride this one out too.”
    â€œNo fishing.”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œToo early for a beer?”
    Jamie’s mom answered her husband. “Yes, too early.”
    Another flash of light and the boys all started counting.
    â€œThree one thousand.” Benjamin threw his hands up into the air. “It’s three miles away.”
    â€œOh goody, Benjamin learned to count in nursery school this year.” For that remark, his mother gave Jamie a look, but that was the extent of it. It made Ethan glad he didn’t have an older brother.
    The two families made spaghetti and salad that night, watched a movie on pay-per-view, and then got ready for bed. The three boys slept in the same room, two sets ofbunk beds. Jamie on top and Benjamin on the bottom. Ethan had chosen the bottom bunk as well by claiming the mattress was more comfortable.
    â€œMommy,” Benjamin called out. The lights in the room were already turned off. Only a straight beam of white cut across the floor from the light in the hall bathroom. “Come and tuck me in.”
    â€œYou’re such a baby.” Jamie leaned over his bunk and swatted at his brother.
    Their mother came in. Ethan could hear the bed creak as she sat down on the edge of Benjamin’s bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders. They were in shadows but Ethan could hear every word.
    â€œMom?” Benjamin whispered.
    â€œMm-hmm.”
    â€œWhat happens to the horses?” The rain was steadily pelting the windows. Every so often the wind would pick up and it was like someone had thrown a bucket of water at the house.
    â€œWhat horses, sweetie?”
    â€œThe wild horses. The ones that live on the beach. The ones that swam ashore when the Spanish boat sank in 1587.”
    Where did Benjamin learn all that?