Unhinged: 2 by A. G. Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

from me a few months ago.
    “We went to the old part of town,” I say, determined to proveJeb’s noble intentions, “because he knows how much I like the rundown theater. It started raining, so we ended up at the drainage pipe for cover.”
    “So there wasn’t a convenience store or someplace public you could’ve gone to stay dry?” she asks in a mocking tone. “Guys don’t drag girls into storm drains for anything respectable.”
    Frowning, I release her hand and tuck mine under my blanket. Hot pain races from the IV to my wrist. “He wanted privacy, but not for what you’re thinking.”
    “It doesn’t matter. He put you in danger. And he’ll be doing it again if you go with him to London.”
    I grind my teeth. “Wait … what? So you’re going to start giving us a hard time now? Of course Dad wants me to have a ring on my finger before I move in with someone. I’m his little girl. But you always told me not to rush into marriage, to feel out my life first. Have you changed your mind?”
    “That’s not what this is about.” She hands me the paper cup and stands, walking over to the flowers on the sill. She strokes the coral-tinged petals of a stargazer lily. Earlier, pink light streamed from between the blinds; now twilight has taken its place, coloring her hair the same purple hue of her dress. “Do you hear them, Allie?”
    I nearly cough up my sip of melted ice. “The flowers?”
    She nods.
    All I hear are the lilies purring in response to her attention. “They aren’t talking …”
    “Not now, but they were while you slept. The bugs, too. I don’t like what they’ve been saying.”
    I wait for her to elaborate. Mom and I have noticed that we sometimes hear different things. It’s as if the plants and insects canindividualize their messages, choose to talk to us separately depending on what they have to share.
    “They’ve warned me that the one closest to you will betray you in the worst possible way.”
    “And you think that’s Jeb?” I ask, incredulous.
    “Who else could it mean, if not Jebediah? Who else do you spend all your waking hours either talking to, thinking about, or hanging out with?”
    My
waking
hours? No one besides Jeb.
    But my sleeping hours …
    I shut my eyes. Of course it’s Morpheus. He’s already betrayed me, by trying to encroach on my life in the human realm. By trying to force me to go back to Wonderland to fight a battle I’m incapable of winning.
    Dread nests inside the back of my skull, making my head throb.
    “Jebediah was with you last year when you went down the rabbit hole,” Mom says from beside the window. The air conditioner comes on, ruffling the lilies and carrying their sweet scent over to me. “A part of Wonderland might have infected him. Maybe it’s been dormant … waiting. Waiting to find a way to you.”
    I huff. “Technically, he was never there. That’s not logical.”
    Mom turns, her skirt rustling as she faces me. “There’s no logic to that place. You know that, Allie. No one gets out of Wonderland without some kind of stain. Being there … it changes a person. Especially if they’re fully human. Has he ever mentioned having strange dreams?”
    I shake my head. “Mom, you’re making this so much more complicated than it has to be.”
    “No. You’re the one complicating things. Why don’t you stay inthe States? There are some wonderful art colleges in New York. Let Jebediah go to London without you. You’ll both be safe then.”
    I reach over to set the cup back on the nightstand. “
Let
him? I don’t rule him. It was his choice to wait until we could go together.”
    Her hands clench the sill behind her. “If you want a normal life, you’re going to have to break all ties with the entire experience and everything that played a part in it.” By the hard set to her chin, I know she’s not going to back down.
    I don’t even try to contain my outburst, even though I know it will kill my throat. “He didn’t choose