“Yeah, why don’t you work on that?” Mina quipped back, feeling relieved at finding out the house didn’t belong to a serial killer. But it left way more questions that dealt with her father and his death. She wasn’t really ready to delve into that, so she let the plaguing questions drop.
Jared wiped away the tears and sat up straight. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing at you—I just thought you would have been smarter than that.”
Mina was insulted and punched Jared playfully in his arm. “I would be if you weren’t a deceitful, pigheaded prince who plays both sides of the tales and obviously gets enjoyment out of terrorizing me.”
“I like terrorizing you. Your face turns the prettiest of colors.” Jared playfully punched Mina back. In retaliation, she pushed him a little harder. Being a boy, and spurred on by the challenge of a wrestling fight. Jared whooped loudly and lunged for Mina, knocking her onto the couch. She 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 the traffic jam they were causing and walked around them, using one of the other doors. Jared turned and looked at her, his dark gray eyes filled with emotion.