BooksBarbecue
Back The Falling Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. CONTENTS
  2. ALSO BY ANNA TODD
  3. DEDICATION
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  54. CHAPTER FIFTY
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  62. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  63. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  64. CHAPTER SIXTY
  65. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  66. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  67. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  68. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  69. A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  72. COPYRIGHT
  73. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

I stretched my arms out in front of me as I lay in bed. My body felt sore everywhere. The morning was misty and overcast, and I couldn’t guess the time. How long had I slept? I found my phone under one of my pillows and squinted through puffy eyes to read: 8:24. I needed to get up and ready for work at eleven, but didn’t know how I was going to deal with today’s shift. I untangled myself from the disheveled mess of sheets and comforter and got out of bed. As I walked out of my room to the bathroom I heard the TV in the living room and knew Elodie was already awake. After a quick check of my face in the bathroom mirror, I splashed my cheeks with water in a futile attempt to revive myself. Kael’s tube of cinnamon-flavored toothpaste sat unopened on the counter. I cringed, feeling a pang of regret. He never even had the chance to use it, but maybe that was for the best.

As I stepped into the hallway, I heard Elodie giggle, clearly amused by whatever she was watching. That laugh always lifted my spirits when we hung out and binged on TV. She had kept me from plummeting last night. She hadn’t asked any questions, she just hugged me as we sat on the couch as I cried. She was here for me last night in a way that I had never felt in a friendship before. I wanted to thank Elodie and say that I was sorry that I hadn’t told her about what was going on with me and Kael.

“You’re awake.” She smiled, turning toward me as she lowered the volume on the remote. Head hurt. It felt like it had been days, not hours, since Kael and my dad were here. Elodie looked surprised as I practically crawled to her on the couch, snuggled up next to her, and wrapped my arm around her. She covered me with the blanket she was using, and I cuddled in closer. We didn’t say anything at first and I couldn’t think of where to begin or just how much I wanted to say. I owed it to her and myself to at least try to explain what was going on.

“Do you believe in coincidences?” I asked.

“Coincidence is simply what happens.” She paused. “Are you asking me about serendipity?”

Serendipity? Kael coming into my life seemed like a series of unfortunate events. I didn’t want to admit it was anything more than that.