Brave Warrior by Ann Hood Read Free Book Online Page B

and pink and purple—with felt or fabric petals framing their faces. They looked lovely, these girls. Not at all like Maisie, whose costume smelled a little like mothballs and didn’t really make sense.
    Yes, Felix forgot that Maisie had come to the party, until the DJ took a break, and Felix and Lily walked hand in hand back to the Gold Room for some more lemonade and miniature snacks.
    “Your sister crashed my party,” Bitsy Beal said from beneath her daisy crown.
    Felix glanced around the room, but Maisie was nowhere in sight.
    “Avery said she smelled like an old man’s winter coat, and she ate about a million sliders,” Bitsy said.
    She didn’t really expect an answer; Felix saw that. But he gave her one anyway.
    “I told her she wasn’t invited,” he lied. “But she came anyway.” He felt weird inside. Weird for lying to appease Bitsy. Weird for betraying Maisie. Un-twinning was harder than he thought it would be.
    Bitsy shook her head sympathetically. “Poor Felix,” she said. “Saddled with a loser.”
    “She’s not a loser,” Felix said. “She’s just—”
    But he couldn’t finish. A lump lodged in his throat, and he could hardly swallow, it felt so big. He got another glass of lemonade, hoping that would help it go away. It didn’t.
    Avery Mason joined them, tossing her beautiful hair.
    “Your sister just ran out of here and down Bellevue Avenue,” she told Felix. “Barefoot,” she added.
    Felix had vowed he was not going to let Maisie ruin his night. But why in the world was she barefoot? Running down Bellevue Avenue? He knew he should go after her. Maybe she had heard Bitsy talking about her. Maybe she knew she wasn’t invited after all.
    The DJ was back, and he put on “The Twist.”
    Everyone squealed and ran out of the GoldRoom, back to the music room, already starting to dance. This time, Lily took
his
hand. Felix thought about Maisie, practically home by now. Where were her shoes? She had been so amused by them, carefully buttoning each button with that special hook.
    “Come on,” Lily said, tugging his hand.
    Felix pushed away all thoughts about Maisie.
    “Time to twist,” he said.
    They twisted. They spelled out the letters to “YMCA” with their arms. They dropped to the floor for “Shout” and then jumped up high when the song grew loud. They did the limbo, and finally, Felix held Lily by the waist and they danced an awkward, shuffling waltz. And the entire time, that lump stayed in his throat, and no matter how hard he tried not to, Felix thought of Maisie, barefoot, running down Bellevue Avenue alone in the dark.

CHAPTER 5
Buffalo
    A s soon as Felix got home, he ran through the Foyer, up the Grand Staircase, and down the hall straight to Maisie’s room. Elm Medona felt the way it always did at night: too quiet and too creepy. He was relieved to see Maisie’s door open and a light on inside.
    “Maisie?” Felix said from the doorway. “Maisie, I’m sorry. I’m a terrible brother. I’m an awful person.” The words came out in one long, breathless rush.
    But Maisie’s bed, with mahogany posts elaborately carved into the shapes of different animals—giraffe, zebra, elephant, and jaguar—and the canopy that stretched across the top made of handmade saffron-colored silk, was empty.
    Felix stepped into the room and looked around, as if Maisie might pop out of the armoire or come out from under the bed. The mural of a jungle scene that covered the walls glowed in the lamplight.
    “Maisie?” he said again, even though it was clear she wasn’t there.
    She was probably sulking somewhere, Felix thought. Or crying. His stomach twisted with guilt. After he’d heard about Maisie running out of the party, he hadn’t really had very much fun. Sure, he’d liked dancing with Lily Goldberg, but the whole time he couldn’t stop thinking about his sister.
    Felix left Maisie’s room and went downstairs to the Library. Empty. He checked the Billiard Room and the Dining