Amber Sky

“Mr. Bradford," she said. "I'm not going to propose to you."

The twinkle in Mr. Bradford's eyes faded. So did his smile. He managed to keep it on his face. It looked painful.

"Oh," he said.

"Mr. Bradford?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind it so very much if...you know...you proposed to me?"

The light in Mr. Bradford's eyes jumped to life. He beamed so largely it almost wasn't crooked.

"If you want.”
― Heather Dixon, Entwined

“Only when I heard her bedroom door open and close did I give in to my beast instincts and do a wild animal dance around the room.”
― Alex Flinn, Beastly

“When I saw you at the graveyard, looking so white, I knew something was wrong. I knew it."

Azalea stared at him, the fire flickering highlights in his eyes.

"So...I thought I should do something," he finished lamely.

"You saw everything?"

Mr. Bradford gave a half of a crooked smile. "I did knock."

"You didn't see Mr...Mr.-"

"Mr. Keeper?" Mr. Bradford spat the name. "Oh yes, I saw Mr. Keeper. Rather hard not to. I saw him try to kiss you. Or what he said was a kiss. I want to snap his head off!"

Azalea had her hand over her mouth, shocked that someone as solemn and dignified as Mr. Bradford could have such venom. He took her hands, gently, and pushed up her sleeved, revealing her swollen wrists. His fringers traced the bruises.

"You stopped him," said Azalea. She bowed her head, shy. "You kept him from-from-"

"Ah, yes, my lady!" Mr. Bradford smiled a crooked smile in full. "His ponytail was simply begging to be yanked.”
― Heather Dixon, Entwined

“But usually, I watched Linda read. I couldn't believe she'd read so much in summer! Sometimes she laughed, reading her book, and one time she even cried. I didn't know how anyone could make such a big deal about books.”
― Alex Flinn, Beastly