Hard Wired Trilogy by DeAnna Pearce (smart books to read .TXT) 📕

something besides online gaming. It really shows when people make something of themselves out of nothing. Not like Tessa here who has had every opportunity in the world. Did Tessa ever tell you how I started my first business?”

“Dad, really? I think that was a new record. Three minutes before we’re talking about you again.”

“I just remembered,” Ari interjected. “I was supposed to meet my brother for something.” She grabbed her bag and took off. Ari would brave any storm to avoid that conversation.

Outside, the rain poured down as she ran towards Reed’s dorm. She should’ve called first but didn’t think he’d hear her over the rain, and she didn’t want to stop running to text him. She also could have stopped in the cafeteria or student center, but if she stopped she would’ve lost her nerve. They’d messaged each other but hadn’t talked in person since coming back to campus on Sunday.

Part of Ari worried if it was a weekend fling, or maybe a dream that she wished would come true. She wanted to know if what they had was real.

By the time she arrived at the door, she was drenched. She had only one more hour until visiting hours were over and then a key was required to enter. On the way up the elevator, a couple of guys eyed her questioningly. She ignored their stares and tried not to think about what she must look like. By the time she knocked on the door, she was shivering.

Reed answered the door, his lips pulling up in a grin.

Words stumbled out of Ari’s mouth. “I had to get out of my room, and I wasn’t sure if you were around or if you wanted—”

He ignored her words and quieted her rambling by pressing his lips against hers, warm and welcoming. He pulled her close, holding her tight despite her sopping clothes. It was the whistles and cheering from two guys down the hall that made them finally separate.

Reed glared at the two guys. “Come in.” He closed the door. “You must be freezing. Do you want something to wear?”

“I’m fine,” Ari lied, distracted by Reed’s side of the room. He always had pictures up, some from home, many of them of the desert trees with their broad twisted branches. She loved to look at them. An unfinished drawing on his desk caught her eye. It was a portrait of a girl, with a long wave of hair covering half her face. It was her.

“I haven’t finished this one yet, but it’s of you.” Color flooded his cheeks as he reached for the black and white drawing. “It still needs a lot of work.”

“It’s amazing.” The detail in her eyes held more emotion than any photo she’d ever seen of herself. Looking up at all the pictures, the familiarity brought a bit of homesickness. She pointed to one bush with thorns twisted into the air. “This should be in a program. You would have been amazing in design. They are so surreal. Like a world, beautiful, twisted, scary.”

Reed was a scholarship kid, like most kids from the block, and art was one of those things that might be a great hobby but didn’t pay the rent. As an only child with a single mother, he had to be more than an artist. But at that moment that nothing else seemed as important.

Something else caught her eyes—a miniature green sculpture of a dragon, with gray eyes that blinked and moved around when it sensed movement. Ari had made it for him years before, after she’d read a book about dragons. The robot was easy enough to make. Reed had started a series of dragon cartoons after that gift. She couldn’t believe he’d kept it.

“Here, let’s get you changed,” Reed said, taking her attention away from the dragon.

“I don’t think you’d fit in my pants, but maybe Marco’s.” Reed handed her a long t-shirt.

“I’ll grab some of Marco’s sweats,” Ari said. Marco was built more like Ari, thin and tall.

Reed offered to step out while she changed. Ari put on the dry shirt which reached down to her thighs. She laid her wet clothes over the back of Marco’s chair and turned to dig through his dresser for sweats. Digging through the drawers, something black caught her eye.

Lifting a shirt, she found a gun. It couldn’t be a real gun, those were illegal. Why would Marco need a gun at school? For a joke? She picked up the weapon, the cold metal heavy under her hand. It didn’t feel like a joke.

“Are you done yet?” Reed stepped back in. “Man, my shirt is like a dress on you. Cute.”

She ignored the comment, and instead turned around with the gun in her hand.

Reed’s eyes widened. He stepped back into the dorm, shutting the door behind him. “What’s the weapon for?”

“It’s Marco’s.” A heavy weight pulled at her shoulders. Whatever her brother was mixed up in was big.

“Oh,” Reed said, but not as surprised as Ari wanted him to be.

“Why does he have a gun? Did you know about this? He’s going to be expelled if anyone finds out.”

Reed walked towards Ari with his hands up. “Hold on. Let’s put it away while we talk about it.”

More than happy to get rid of the gun, she placed it back in his drawer. Maybe if it was out of sight, then it wouldn’t seem as real. Her hands, now empty, shook uncontrollably. Reed had her sit on Marco’s bed. She tugged the hem of his shirt down to cover the top of her thighs.

Reed pulled a chair and sat across from her. “Marco’s been getting mixed up with some sketchy guys lately.”

Anger rose up, hot and fast. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He let a long breath out. “I’ve talked to him about it and was hoping things had gotten better. But today he asked for money again. I’ve lent him some, but he wanted more.”

“You should have told me.” Anger burned the back of her