Read Fear Hall: The Beginning for Free Online Page B

screamed again.
    â€œWhat else were you going to write, Eden?” Darryl whispered in my ear. His hot breath swept over my face. Made my skin prickle.
    â€œNothing—” I choked out. “Let go. You’re
hurting
me!”
    â€œLet go of her!” Hope shouted.
    â€œWhat else were you going to write in your letter?” Darryl repeated. “Were you going to tell your mom about me? Were you going to tell her who did that terrible thing in front of the dorm?”
    He twisted my arm back until I shrieked in pain.
    â€œNo. No—of course not!” I whispered.
    He let out an angry snarl—and shoved me hard against the wall.
    I spun around, breathing hard. My shoulder throbbed with pain.
    He balled up the letter and tossed it at me. It hit my forehead and bounced to the floor.
    A grin spread over his face. A grin of triumph.
    And that’s when I decided to kill him.

chapter 13
    W ell … no.
    I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted to get rid of him.
    I wanted to get him out of our lives. I wanted to call the police and tell them what he had done.
    I wanted Darryl away. Far away, where I’d never have to be afraid of him again.
    A hard knock on the door made us all jump.
    Darryl dove for the bathroom. Hope followed. He slammed the door behind them.
    Angel sleepily raised her head from her pillow. “Who’s here?” she asked, blinking. Then she turned her face to the wall. Jasmine remained sound asleep in the top bunk.
    I had left the door open a crack. As I took a steptoward it, it swung open. Melanie and Mary poked their heads in.
    â€œIs everything okay?” Mary asked.
    I picked up my balled-up letter from the floor. “Yeah. What’s wrong?” I replied.
    â€œWe … heard voices,” Melanie said. “We wondered …”
    â€œI’m sorry. Did I have the radio on too loud?” I asked, thinking quickly.
    Melanie’s eyes lowered to the boom box on the windowsill. “But the radio isn’t on,” she said, eyeing me suspiciously.
    â€œI—uh—turned it off when you knocked,” I told her. “I’m really sorry if it was too loud. I—”
    â€œMary and I have just been so freaked,” Melanie said, tugging at her single, dangling earring. “I mean—since Brendan was murdered.”
    â€œWe jump at every sound,” Mary added. “None of us can sleep. Margie thinks she flunked her French test yesterday. We’re all totally freaked.”
    â€œWe are too,” I told her.
    Both girls narrowed their eyes at me. Studying me. They exchanged glances.
    Did I say something wrong? I wondered.
    Why are they
looking
at me like that?
    â€œIt’s so frightening,” Melanie said finally. “We can’t relax in our own dorm room.”
    â€œWe were trying to study,” Mary added. “But we thought we heard a boy’s voice. From your room. So …” Her voice trailed off.
    â€œA boy? Up here?” I cried. I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
    I glanced at the bathroom door. I had a strong urge to tell Melanie and Mary, “Look in the bathroom. You’ll find a boy in there. You’ll find a
murderer
in there!”
    But I bit my bottom lip and remained silent.
    â€œIt must have been the radio,” Melanie said quietly. “Sorry.”
    They started back to their room. But at the door, Mary turned back to me. “We’re trying to organize a meeting,” she told me.
    â€œA meeting?”
    â€œSome kind of safety meeting,” Mary said. “You know. To talk about how we can protect ourselves. And maybe force the college to get more security for the dorm. Some more guards.”
    â€œOllie is a sweet old guy. But he isn’t much of a guard. He’s usually asleep at his desk,” Melanie complained. “Anyone can walk right by him.”
    I nodded. “That’s true.”
    Mary chuckled.