Vendetta Read Online Free

quickly.
    "Now where are you going ?" Selena asks.
    "I just want to stick my feet in."
    "After last night's storm? The water is freezing."
    "I'll only be a second," I promise.
    I reach into my bag and remove my knife, winding my fingers around it.
    "Genesis!" Selena hisses. "Are you crazy ?" Her voice is lost in the wind and the waves and ignored by the part of me that knows Viola is still out there, waiting for me.
    I move toward the water, chasing the sea as it sucks back, foaming and bubbling. Another wave moves in, colliding with my ankles , splashing up to my knees. I gasp, feeling the icy water prick my skin. Behind the breakers, I lift with each new wave. They push against me, shoving me back to shore. I lose the sandbar, and, in the next moment, slip beneath the surface. Saltwater assaul ts my nose, burning. Eyes stinging. Above me the world is clearer, brighter, quieter, the sunlight reflecting diamonds on the water. My feet scrape against sand, and something slimy brushes my leg. I kick furiously, grappling for the surface as the current drags me along. I break free and inhale sharply. Gasping. Coughing. Sputtering. Lip trembling with cold. 
    Come on, Viola. I know you're here.
    I tread water, waiting, moving with the waves.
    This is where you like to play, isn't it? I dare you.
    A band of seagulls flies overhead, squawking. One lands on a nearby post, eyeing me curiously with its beady black eye.
    I turn back to the sea, expecting to feel her at any moment. Fingers wrapping around my ankle. The jolt that drags me under.
    This is what she wan ts, isn't it? For me to die? I've made it easy for her. She could never resist this.
    I wait. Watching. But there's nothing.
    My legs grow weaker, shaking and numb with cold.
    A few beats more and I turn, swimming with the next wave that moves in. And the ne xt. I feel the sandbar beneath my feet and trudge back to shore. The surf carried me down the beach. Selena sits in the distance, waiting.
    I cross my arms tightly against my chest, both warming myself and hiding the blade of my knife as I approach her. Set h is nearby, sitting on a towel in the sand. Sunglasses hiding his eyes. His jaw is tight. Angry. 
    I'll hear about this later.
    "What was that ?" Selena demands to know.
    Seawater drips from my hair, rolling down my body. I wipe my nose, feeling the sun heat my shoulders. "Do you want the truth?"
    "God, no. Just humor me."
    "I was trying to catch your dinner." I toss the knife into my purse. "They're not biting."
    "You're a freak, Genesis Green."
    "Yeah, I know." I swallow back a smile, reaching for the elastic t o fix my ponytail. But it's gone. I run my fingers through my wet hair, searching for it on the ground.
    I eventually give up, turning my attention back to the sea. At whatever's out there. Waiting for me. Not waiting for me. 
    I am not afraid of you.

 
     
     
    F OUR
     
     
     
     
    "Why do you keep doing this to me?" Seth shouts, infuriated. "How many times do I have to tell you we're watching?"
    I spin on my heel, flinging my beach bag to the floor. "You didn't believe me when I told you I saw her."
    "I did!"
    "You didn't!" I accuse. "You just wrote it off like I was imagining things. I am not crazy!"
    "No one is saying you are, Genesis. But we didn't see her. And even if we did that's not a license for you to throw yourself into the ocean!"
    My arms fold across my chest in defi ance. "You're angry because you know it could've worked."
    His jaw tightens, eyes flashing. "I'm angry because every day you find some new way to put yourself in danger. Do you want to die?"
    "You know better than that."
    "Then stop doing stupid, irrational t hings! Anything could have gone wrong today. The freezing water. The rip tide. Viola should have been the least of your concerns."
    I swallow back a laugh. "Viola is my only concern."
    "I know, and that's the problem. When you first agreed to work with us, i t was so you could help people. You felt like it was your calling.