Read Anabel Unraveled for Free Online

throat. I pulled away from him, but the truth was, I wanted to feel that way again.
    It felt good, for lack of a better word.
    I faced him, staring into his eyes. He couldn’t see mine, as they were hidden by my sunglasses. I reached out and grabbed his hand, and led him away from the roaring surf. We walked for about fifteen minutes until we came to one of the small cottages along the coastline. Sometimes when we had visitors, we let them stay in one of the cottages if they felt uncomfortable staying in the fort.
    I couldn’t blame them. It was full of criminals and, on top of that, my father was there.
    I should point out that I loved my father, but ever since I turned eighteen his obsession with me had grown fanatical. He had done everything he could to prevent me from leaving. However, we barely spoke anymore, and if we did we just screamed at each other. The loss of Miss Marilyn had hit me hard, and I pined for her daily. It should also be understood that I knew I was taking a risk showing Jared the cottage, as it would probably send Jonathan into another rant about my chastity. Going there alone? With a man? I could hear the impending tirade already. I was feeling reckless, however; and with all sorts of new sensations coursing through my body, I decided to be bold.
    Typing in the passcode, I unlocked the door and led Jared in to the sitting room. I sat down on the nearest chair, took off my sunglasses, and stared hard at him. “So. What do you want to know about me?”
    I’ve always had a way of filling people with unease, a skill which I attribute to years of living in relative isolation. For his part, Jared seemed uncomfortable as he lowered himself onto the chair. “Anabel,” he began.
    “Jared,” I replied.
    “I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that back there, I’m sorry.” But the way he said it, he didn’t seem sorry.
    “It’s okay. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” I hoped to sound coy, but it rang false in my ears, and it caused him to look even more uncomfortable.
    There was silence, and then, “You’re just a kid.”
    I looked at him for a moment. “I’m assuming that you came to that clever deduction on your own.” I took off my hat. “I thought that there was something that I could help you with.”
    He attempted a grin. “You must know why I am here.”
    “I would guess that it’s because I woke up my brother in the middle of the night to whine about how rough my life is and how Daddy never lets me go out with the boys,” I lamented. “What time was it over there when I called Sam? 2 a.m.?”
    Jared snorted, and I continued. “I’m surprised that my father let me go show you around. But I have some theories on why he did it.”
    “Oh really?” Jared looked entertained. “What are those?”
    I leaned forward and lowered my voice conspiratorially. “Well, Jonathan hates me, so it can’t be because he wants me to have any fun. So, Option Number One is that he’s doing something terrible in the facility, and he doesn’t want you to find out, so he sent me to distract you while he covers up whatever it is. However, he’s just not like that. He’s pretty straight when it comes to how he runs his ship, which leads me to Option Number Two.” I sat back and continued, “He wants me to distract you from looking into everything that happened with Miss Marilyn, and why he won’t let me leave.”
    Jared looked puzzled. “What did that have to do with anything?”
    “Miss Marilyn was my babysitter / teacher, although Jonathan liked to call her my ‘governess.’ Anyway, she wanted me to go to college in the States, which made perfect sense to everyone involved—except for Jonathan. I took the appropriate standardized tests, I applied to several schools, and then my dear father decided he didn’t want Marilyn here anymore, and so he fired her. She was the closest thing that I had to a friend here, and she really loved me. She had sacrificed any sort of a normal life to