Read Tear You Apart for Free Online Page B
Authors: Sarah Cross
me.”
“You’re not the one I don’t trust,” Elsa said.
“It’s that Freddie Knight,” Viv said. “He’s such a degenerate.”
“I am not a—” Freddie started, before he realized no one was taking Viv seriously. He was a Sleeping Beauty prince, and Mira was a Sleeping Beauty princess. And although he’d already broken her curse, and awakened her from an enchanted sleep,
and
Mira was dating Blue, not him, he still behaved as though his honor were somehow in doubt. There were some pretty perverse Sleeping Beauty stories, and he didn’t want Mira’s godmothers to think he was one of
those
princes.
Viv asked about food and Mira found some leftover pizza in the fridge. “Sorry. We’re still getting settled so there’s not a lot here. Do you want me to order something? We have some takeout menus”—Mira turned to look behind her—“somewhere.…”
“No, this is fine. Thanks.”
“Everything’s been crazy since my curse was broken. First packing for the move, and then—I finally met my parents.” Mira smiled. “Well, for the first time since my christening party. We went on vacation together.”
“Was it fun?”
“It was. But also overwhelming. They wanted to make up for sixteen lost years in two weeks, which is kind of …”
“Impossible?”
Mira nodded. “But, I don’t think they were disappointed or anything. Which I worried about.”
“We told her not to worry,” Elsa said. “Why would they be disappointed?
They
were worried about disappointing
her
.”
“You’re very lovable for two weeks,” Bliss said. “That’s your limit, though. I don’t know how we put up with you for sixteen years.”
“
Anyway
,” Mira said. “They’re going to move here. So I’llget to see them more, and see what they’re like when they’re not taking me around sightseeing. Um—do you want to eat that here, or bring it to my room?”
“Room,” Viv said. Freddie stayed behind to finish cleaning up.
They found Blue on Mira’s bed, shaping a stuffed unicorn’s mane into a mohawk. “Can you kick him out for a minute?” Viv asked.
Blue put on an appalled expression. “You want me to exile this innocent unicorn?”
“Um, sure,” Mira said. “Blue … go help Freddie with the dishes.”
“Freddie’s doing the dishes?” Blue sighed and got up. “Of course he’s doing the dishes.”
“Thank you,” Mira said, kissing his cheek and shutting the door behind him.
After another moment, Mira said, “So … I’m guessing you need to talk about something serious.”
“It’s kind of personal.”
“Okay.”
They sat down: Mira on the bed, Viv on a red beanbag on the floor. Mira was the only person Viv knew who had experience with this particular problem, but it wasn’t going to be easy to talk about.
Finally, Viv said, “Are there warning signs when a guy wants to kill you? Like, when he’s definitely decided to do it?”
Mira froze, lips parted. Then she lowered her eyes and started playing with the charm bracelet on her wrist. Each of the charms was a märchen mark symbol: the Sleeping Beauty spinning wheel, an apple, a heart, the Beast’s rose, Rapunzel’sbraid. “Um. I don’t know if this would really be helpful, in your case. Because the circumstances were so different. But … yeah. There’s definitely a change.”
“I hate to even ask you about this. I don’t want to stir up any …”
“It’s okay.”
“But I don’t know who else to ask.”
Mira had been through a lot since she’d come to Beau Rivage at the beginning of summer. She’d gone from not knowing about curses to learning she was a princess, getting tangled up romantically with Blue’s brother, Felix, falling into an enchanted sleep, and waking up, all in about a week. After a brief, sketchy courtship, Felix had tried to kill Mira and almost succeeded. It wasn’t over between the two of them. Either Felix would finish what he’d started or someone would kill him. Felix was a
“You’re not the one I don’t trust,” Elsa said.
“It’s that Freddie Knight,” Viv said. “He’s such a degenerate.”
“I am not a—” Freddie started, before he realized no one was taking Viv seriously. He was a Sleeping Beauty prince, and Mira was a Sleeping Beauty princess. And although he’d already broken her curse, and awakened her from an enchanted sleep,
and
Mira was dating Blue, not him, he still behaved as though his honor were somehow in doubt. There were some pretty perverse Sleeping Beauty stories, and he didn’t want Mira’s godmothers to think he was one of
those
princes.
Viv asked about food and Mira found some leftover pizza in the fridge. “Sorry. We’re still getting settled so there’s not a lot here. Do you want me to order something? We have some takeout menus”—Mira turned to look behind her—“somewhere.…”
“No, this is fine. Thanks.”
“Everything’s been crazy since my curse was broken. First packing for the move, and then—I finally met my parents.” Mira smiled. “Well, for the first time since my christening party. We went on vacation together.”
“Was it fun?”
“It was. But also overwhelming. They wanted to make up for sixteen lost years in two weeks, which is kind of …”
“Impossible?”
Mira nodded. “But, I don’t think they were disappointed or anything. Which I worried about.”
“We told her not to worry,” Elsa said. “Why would they be disappointed?
They
were worried about disappointing
her
.”
“You’re very lovable for two weeks,” Bliss said. “That’s your limit, though. I don’t know how we put up with you for sixteen years.”
“
Anyway
,” Mira said. “They’re going to move here. So I’llget to see them more, and see what they’re like when they’re not taking me around sightseeing. Um—do you want to eat that here, or bring it to my room?”
“Room,” Viv said. Freddie stayed behind to finish cleaning up.
They found Blue on Mira’s bed, shaping a stuffed unicorn’s mane into a mohawk. “Can you kick him out for a minute?” Viv asked.
Blue put on an appalled expression. “You want me to exile this innocent unicorn?”
“Um, sure,” Mira said. “Blue … go help Freddie with the dishes.”
“Freddie’s doing the dishes?” Blue sighed and got up. “Of course he’s doing the dishes.”
“Thank you,” Mira said, kissing his cheek and shutting the door behind him.
After another moment, Mira said, “So … I’m guessing you need to talk about something serious.”
“It’s kind of personal.”
“Okay.”
They sat down: Mira on the bed, Viv on a red beanbag on the floor. Mira was the only person Viv knew who had experience with this particular problem, but it wasn’t going to be easy to talk about.
Finally, Viv said, “Are there warning signs when a guy wants to kill you? Like, when he’s definitely decided to do it?”
Mira froze, lips parted. Then she lowered her eyes and started playing with the charm bracelet on her wrist. Each of the charms was a märchen mark symbol: the Sleeping Beauty spinning wheel, an apple, a heart, the Beast’s rose, Rapunzel’sbraid. “Um. I don’t know if this would really be helpful, in your case. Because the circumstances were so different. But … yeah. There’s definitely a change.”
“I hate to even ask you about this. I don’t want to stir up any …”
“It’s okay.”
“But I don’t know who else to ask.”
Mira had been through a lot since she’d come to Beau Rivage at the beginning of summer. She’d gone from not knowing about curses to learning she was a princess, getting tangled up romantically with Blue’s brother, Felix, falling into an enchanted sleep, and waking up, all in about a week. After a brief, sketchy courtship, Felix had tried to kill Mira and almost succeeded. It wasn’t over between the two of them. Either Felix would finish what he’d started or someone would kill him. Felix was a