The Princes of Tangleforest Read Online Free Page B

heard the window being slammed shut.
    “Poppi,” he whispered in the dark. What a strange name . He stood there, wondering what he should do. He didn’t want her to get in trouble, so he waited a couple of minutes before sprinting home. He had whistled the entire way back to his room, thinking, maybe Tangleforest wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter 6
     
    Julia sat on her bed with her laptop on her pillow reading Ashley’s Facebook status. Ashley boasted about the way the new guy was all into her, and Julia couldn’t believe that she actually felt pangs of jealousy.
    She hadn’t noticed Tanner eyeing Ashley like Ashley claimed. But perhaps she just didn’t want to see. After all, Ashley was the kind of “pretty” boys liked: big boobs, a perfect nose, and long legs and hair.
    “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Julia said as she closed her laptop. She didn’t want to think who Tanner liked or didn’t like. She didn’t want to get mixed up with any kind of feelings. She had had a terrible time the last year. Between losing her mom, breaking up with her boyfriend and being shunned by her friends, she didn’t know if she could afford to get her heart broken again.
    But she already felt anxiousness in her stomach. And worse than that, she was constantly thinking about him. She especially liked the way he wore his hair long; it had a natural wave but not too curly. He wasn’t gangly tall like Zachary, just a nice half foot taller or so than her 5’4” frame. It didn’t take much for her to look up into his dark blue eyes.
    She was also worried about him. Zachary had approached her in the hallway that afternoon with a copy of Tanner’s transcript. The thought of Tanner being a smart kid was really wild. At first, she wondered why Zachary would show it to her, but later she realized he was trying to throw it in her face that he planned on taking Tanner from her. The Princes wanted a new member to groom and to enforce their rule. Zachary had also told her that he intended on paying Tanner a visit.
    Julia had tried to catch up with Tanner after school, but he sped away on his skateboard. She had even run after him calling his name, but he hadn’t heard her.
    She climbed off of her bed and put her computer in its case. She couldn’t call it a night until she checked on her dad, so she went to the living room to see if he had gone to bed.
    Ever since her mom had died, the house felt somber, family-time nonexistent. Her dad would come in from work and grab a sandwich and sit in front of the television.
    Julia regretted not spending more time with her mom in the kitchen. Her mom had wanted, practically begged, Julia to at least watch as she cooked; she had wanted to pass down the traditional Mexican family recipes. Julia wasn’t about to be trapped in that kitchen. She had plans and knew that once cursed with the knowledge of the dishes, in the kitchen was where she would’ve been expected to be. She tried to be as far away from the kitchen as possible, especially when her aunt and grandma came over to make tamales with her mom. However, now Julia wished she could prepare a meal that would make her and her dad feel closer to her mom. She wanted the house to be filled with the familiar aroma of home, happiness, and jalapenos.
    She walked into the living room where the television blared. “Dad, did you eat?”
    He didn’t answer or turn around.
    “Dad?”
    All she could see was the top of his strawberry-blond head. He had fallen asleep in his chair, again. She couldn’t leave him like that. “Dad,” she whispered so she wouldn’t shock him awake and shook him lightly.
    “What? Huh?”
    “Why don’t you go on to bed?”
    He looked around, disoriented. “Oh. Okay.”
    He was doing better—better than when he couldn’t get out of bed and when he couldn’t go to work—but still went to see Dr. Davis once a month. Julia refused to go to his home office, Zachary’s house, any longer. Besides, she felt like