Read Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3 for Free Online Page B

squealed and started hitting Jared when he began to tickle her
sides.
    “ Stop…stop…NOO!” she
screamed. He laughed and continued his ambush. She tried
desperately to catch her breath. She kicked at his legs and tried
to push him off, but all it did was bring his face that much closer
to hers, and his eyes widened when he realized it as well. He
stopped tickling her, his hands on her hips, and he leaned down and
nuzzled her cheek. Mina immediately froze and sucked in her breath.
Jared stopped and lifted his head to stare at the door.
    A second later, the storage room door opened
and the light flicked on, illuminating the room. Surprised, Mina
flew off the couch, and something hard fell to the floor. Sara
stood in the doorway with a fire poker held out in front of her.
Her chest was heaving from running. Her eyes flew to Mina.
    “ Are you okay?” Sara
asked. “I heard screaming.”
    Mina stared hard at the plastic mannequin on
the floor that moments ago had been Jared. Her cheeks flushed, and
she shook her head. “Yes, I was exploring in the dark and knocked
this over. It scared me at first.”
    Sara looked around the room, unconvinced.
Her eyes scanned every inch of the room before she nodded. “Okay,
then. Let’s get out of here. There seems to be a lot of breakable
items in here. Is that dummy okay? It’s not broken, is it?”
    Mina tried not to laugh as she stood up and
gently kicked the mannequin. “This old thing? Nah, it’s not broken.
It’s as hard as a rock…see?” She took pleasure in knocking her foot
into it one more time, a little harder.
    “ What an odd thing to be
in a house. It almost looks alive.”
    Mina couldn’t help it—she snorted. “No, it’s
a dummy all right. No heart and all.” She walked over to her mom
and ushered her into the hall.
    “ Aren’t you going to pick
it up?” Sara asked.
    Mina grinned. “Nope. It can stay on the cold
floor all night, for all I care. It’s punishment for attacking
me.”
    “ I’m really starting to
not like this house. It feels too…mysterious.”
    “ I think it’s perfect. It
was meant for us.” With that, Mina flicked off the light and closed
the door.

 
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    “ You know you don’t have
to go today. I can call the office and get you excused,” Sara said
softly. Usually at this time of the day Sara would be dropping
Charlie off at his school, and Mina would be arriving on her bike.
But since Charlie and the bike were no more, it was time for a
different tradition.
    Mina chewed on the inside of her cheek and
stared at the school. Just two weeks ago she was dying to go back;
now she was dreading walking through the double doors. And she
couldn’t figure out why. Nan was in there. She would get to speak
to Nan for the first time since she left for the summer, but also
Brody would be in there, along with Ever.
    But Nan may not know about
Charlie . Mina had intended to call her as
soon as she got back from camp, but it was the oddest thing. The
house they were staying at didn’t have a telephone, or a TV. Once
she walked in the school doors, every student’s eyes would be on
her and they would pity her, and Mina would probably break down and
cry.
    What to do? What to do? She was about to
tell her mom to turn around and drive home when she felt her
backpack grow warm on her lap. A tingling sensation spread out
along her leg, and she gripped the car door and jumped out in
record time.
    It wasn’t a mystery what the sensation
was—it was the Grimoire, which meant it was Jared telling her to
get going. Sure enough, when she had walked twenty feet from the
car, he joined her out of nowhere.
    He silently walked next to her and only
bobbed his head in a casual greeting. Mina tried to smile back, but
it was forced. She could feel the tears building, and she
desperately tried to hold them at bay. She reached for the entry
door and began to open it, but Jared put his hand on the glass,
gently closing it. Students mumbled at