Painting in Acrylic by @therealpaul
Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21
Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24
For those of you who missed the post of the release, I briefly explained how the series began as an idea for a Young Adult novel, and that I had in fact written what amounts to a novella taking place the summer before REBORN begins, and I decided to release it here on steemit.
BORN
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Sorry,” Anna said again with a small smile. “I still haven’t completely processed it. Basically I decided even though I never knew them and they were obviously assholes, they’re long gone now, it’s not as if I’d be hurting anyone by claiming what’s essentially a gift.” She paused intentionally this time, her smile growing as she prepared to shock them. “So I called the guy right before I picked up Macey to come here….and he told me I have somewhere around... three hundred and sixty million dollars.” She watched with delighted amusement as they absorbed this, jaws dropping one by one. Then they all began talking at once.
“Jesus…”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh my God!”
“Three hundred and sixty million?”
“That’s like winning the lottery fifty times over!”
“Um…shopping spree anyone?”
This last was said by Jess causing laughter all around.
“Hell yes!” Anna exclaimed, “A shopping spree to end all shopping sprees!”
Once they’d settled down a bit Holly gave her an earnest look. “Will this change your plans for the year?”
Anna thought about that and nodded slowly. “Yeah I guess it will. I mean I was only going to college because I didn’t know what else to do, but now…it just seems silly to go right back to school when I don’t have to. Right?”
“I definitely wouldn’t,” Marina piped in, and all but Austin nodded agreement.
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question.
He blew out air and shook his head, “Wow. I mean, yeah…or no, I…shit.”
She frowned as she realized what he was probably going through. They were supposed to be attending the same community college for one thing, and for another…well it kind of challenged his role in their new-found relationship.
“Hey, this is a good thing for us,” she assured him. “Now you won’t have to worry about working your way through school, you can just concentrate on classes. No student loans, no worries…it’s actually too bad my dad didn’t tell me about this last year, you could have went straight to university instead of depending on the local college to get a scholarship…” She trailed off as she noticed him shaking his head. “What? What are you saying no to?” She demanded.
He smiled slightly, “Anna…I’m not gonna take money from you.”
She put her hands on her hips. “What? Why? Because I’m your girlfriend now?”
His smile widened, “Girlfriend... Damn, I like the sound of that!”
“Don’t change the subject!”
His smile turned wry, “Look, even if we were still just friends I wouldn’t be comfortable…
“Fuck your comfort!” She shouted surprising everyone.
“Whoa Anna, calm down,” Jenna put a hand on her arm.
Anna shook it off and kept her eyes on Austin, her temper continuing to rise. “Didn’t you just hear me say that I felt bad about this money? It’s not like I earned it! I never knew the people, they hated my dad, disowned my mom, and now my mom’s dead so she can’t give me advice and…and you just have to let me share it with you! All of you!” She turned toward the girls and her anger dissipated, tears springing to her eyes and spilling over.
The girls surrounded her immediately, pulling her into a group hug and murmuring reassurance while Austin shifted awkwardly outside the circle.
Once she’d gotten it together and the girls backed away, Austin put an arm around her shoulders and said quietly, “We’ll talk about it okay?”
She stared at him wordlessly.
“Don’t be upset,” he coaxed, cupping her face. “Let’s just enjoy the rest of grassroots and we can discuss it when we're back home.”
She searched his eyes and the anxiety in them softened her. “Okay,” she whispered.
He smiled and kissed her softly then squeezed her to his side for a moment before letting go.
“Well, I for one do not need to wait until next week to discuss it,” Jess announced, “I think we should start planning our shopping spree right now!”
Macey grinned, but Holly shook her head and Jenna made a face at her sister.
“What?” Jess demanded, “You heard her, she wants to share, she’ll be upset if we don’t let her!”
“Yeah, but we probably shouldn’t waste what’s left of grassroots talking about something we can talk about when we leave,” Marina offered.
“Actually, I agree with that,” Anna stated, “we’ll all get together at my house on Tuesday and make plans, how’s that sound?”
Everyone nodded assent and began to disperse.
“Are you ready to go back in the gates, or do you want to hang out at camp for a bit?” Austin asked her.
“We can go in…as long as you’re with me, I’ll be fine,” she smiled at him.
He returned the smile and put his arm around her, pulling her snugly against his side and led them toward the grounds. “I got you,” he said softly, “always.”
Buy Your copy of The Allies of Old: Reborn HERE-
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=linnet+mclaughlin
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