Levi couldn’t see the flames
around the bottom of the pot, because he couldn’t
see the bottom of the pot, but he knew there was fire—he’d
seen it. Mom said when that happened he had to turn
the knob some more to stop the clicking, because it
might not be safe. But he wasn’t sure if he could
get up.
“Levi?”
Click, click, click.
A shadow covered Levi, and he looked
up to find his little brother bending over him, eyes
wide and scared. And the clicking kept on. Levi’s
head hurt where he’d bumped it. What if he was
hurt bad? What if he’d broken something and he
shouldn’t get up?
A chubby hand patted his cheek. “Levi?”
Cody sounded scared.
Levi knew he had to be a big boy
for his little brother. Mom wasn’t back yet.
He raised his head, then pushed himself up and sat
for a minute while Cody watched with wide eyes.
Click, click, click.
Levi shook his head and pushed himself
to his feet. He had to get to that knob. He could
hear the soup sizzling on the sides of the pot, but
Mom said it had to sizzle like that for a while for
it to do any good. He reached the knob and turned
it, and the clicking stopped. He pulled a spoon out
of the drawer and stuck it into the soup. It looked
easier when Mom did it, because Mom was taller, and
she could see what she was doing. There were too many
things to remember, and he couldn’t think very
well with Cody patting his leg to make sure he was
okay.
He turned to Cody. “It’s
okay, I’m getting soup. You go sit down in your
chair.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, Cody. Go to your chair.”
Levi put his hands on his hips like Mom did when Cody
was being bad. “I mean it, Cody. Sit down!”
Cody started to cry again, but he
went to his chair. Levi stepped up onto the stool
again. He reached for the spoon he’d put in the
pot. The spoon was hot, and his arm jerked backward,
knocking against the handle of the pot and tipping
the pot over to the side.
Hot soup splashed out onto Levi’s
shoulder. He screamed with pain, and Cody’s cries
mingled with his.
* * *
Evan had never felt this horrible
before. His hands shook, and his stomach was upset.
Before he reached the theater, he knew he couldn’t
go in. His heart felt like it was beating faster,
but he couldn’t be sure because of the roaring
in his ears.
“Hey!” A voice came from
the street so suddenly it scared him, and he jerked
violently around to see his friend Kent in a pickup
truck. “Come on, get in. Dad let me use his truck.
We’ll go cruising. The movie’s no good tonight.”
Evan rushed over to the truck and
pulled the door open. “I thought you said those
pills you gave me were supposed to make me feel better.
Where’d you get them?”
“A friend. Don’t worry,
you’ll be okay. Get in. Haven’t you ever
done speed before?”
The words didn’t sink in for
a few seconds. Speed! “Speed?”
“Hey, relax, it’ll give
you go power. You’re always so droopy lately.”
Evan jumped into the truck and slammed
the door. He felt a rush of anger so powerful he wanted
to strangle Kent. “It’s making me sick,
man! Why didn’t you tell me what it was? Where
did you get the stuff?”
“Peregrine gave me some last
week.” Kent sounded suddenly defensive.
“Who’s that?”
“Come on, Evan, don’t you
know anything? He hangs out with the guys sometimes.”
“Peregrine? You mean like a
falcon?” What a stupid name. “Is
he a pusher or something?”
“Pusher? No way. He gave me
the pills. Don’t worry, he’s okay. He’s
in his twenties, and the guys like him ’cause
he’ll buy booze for them on weekends.”
Evan buried his face in his hands.
This was crazy! He was taking illegal drugs from some
loser who thought he was a bird of prey. Why hang
out with Kent, anyway? It wasn’t as if he had
any brains.
“Evan? You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay! How
could you do this to me?”
“Hey, you didn’t have to
take it, you know. Don’t blame me.”
The tingling in Evan’s arms
and hands accelerated. It felt as if ants had burst
into his veins and arteries and were crawling up his
neck. “Do something! This feels awful.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
Evan felt another powerful spurt
of anger. His heart beat louder and louder in his
ears, faster and faster, like it could explode. He
grabbed Kent by the arm. “Get me help!”
Excerpted from:
Second Opinion (HEALING TOUCH Book 1) by Hannah
Alexander
Copyright © 2002, Hannah Alexander
ISBN 0764225286
Published by
Bethany House Publishers
Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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