Smoked by Mari Mancusi Read Free Book Online Page B

here…and…”
    â€œAnd…?” Trinity raised an eyebrow.
    â€œAnd I wanted to—see him,” she stammered, now feeling completely flustered. “That’s all.”
    It was then that she remembered that Trinity would have no idea what had gone down between her and Caleb in the Nether. Of course she would be questioning—for all she knew, Scarlet barely knew the guy. She wondered if she should come clean, inform Trinity that she and Caleb were basically a couple now. But something in the girl’s black eyes caused the words to stick in her throat.
    â€œWell, here he is, the great and powerful Caleb Jacks, in the flesh,” Trinity said wryly as she walked over to the chair Scarlet had been sitting in, plopping down on it like it was an old friend, grabbing a book from underneath the bed. The Fellowship of the Ring , Scarlet noted from the spine. She watched awkwardly as Trin opened it to a dog-eared page three-quarters of the way in, then paused, looking up at Scarlet. “Did you…want to…stay?” she asked, sounding as if she really hoped Scarlet didn’t.
    â€œNo. No, I’m…I’m good,” Scarlet said, taking a step backward. “I’m actually—well, I need to figure out where I’m going to sleep and all. And maybe get some of that pizza your dad was cooking. Man, it’s been forever since I’ve had any pizza.”
    The relief on Trinity’s face was palpable. “Try the feta cheese and pineapple,” she suggested. “It’s really good.”
    â€œI will. Thank you,” Scarlet replied. “And…well, thanks for the rescue too. It’s really, really nice to be here. I owe you everything. And I’m sorry about what I said about Emmy outside. I’m sure she’ll come back when she’s ready. She loves you, you know. Back at the government lab, you were all she ever talked about. I mean, when she was still talking…”
    She trailed off, realizing Trinity wasn’t really listening. Just staring down at the book as if waiting for Scarlet to leave. Scarlet sighed. Would things ever be less awkward between them? “Anyway, I’ll…catch you later.”
    With that, she turned, exiting the room as quickly as she could, leaving Caleb to his story time. As she stepped through the doorway, she couldn’t help but turn around to give him one last look. To her surprise, Trinity had abandoned the book and was now leaning on Caleb’s chest, head buried in her arms.
    And she was crying.

Chapter Four
    Two Months Later…
    â€œDie, dragon, die!”
    As the mighty dragon reared in front of her, Trinity mashed the hot keys on her laptop computer, determined to take the Fields of Fantasy boss down. As a Fury Warrior, she needed to deliver enough damage per second to fell the mighty beast before it rained its fire down on her party and destroyed them all. Beside her, the tank warrior took the brunt of the damage while the mage and priest were casting spells behind her. It was an extremely precarious operation—and everyone had to do their jobs just right—or it would be game over for sure.
    But just as the dragon was down to its very last hit points, it began to turn orange, signaling the beginning of its annihilation cast. Trin tried to disrupt it, but her sword missed its mark, and the dragon was able to get its spell off. A moment later, the entire party was swept away in a fiery inferno, falling to the ground in one fell swoop. Defeated.
    â€œStupid game!” Trinity cried, shoving the laptop across the table in disgust. It was all she could do not to grab it and smash it on the floor. “Why do I even play this stupid, stupid game?”
    She rose to her feet, accidentally knocking over her chair. It crashed to the floor, causing everyone else in the room to look up. She could feel their eyes on her, questioning her, which only made her