Certainty Read Online Free PDF Page B

I think I got the best room. It isn’t the biggest, but it’s nice.”
    The setting sun threw a pink light over everything in his room. There was a bed and a dresser so far and a lot of boxes. He moved one out of the way.
    “I have so much crap. I have no idea where I’m going to put it all. Maybe the closet. That’s where it all was when I packed it up.”
    I heard little girls’ voices and looked over at him. “Are those your twin sisters?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    He stepped around the boxes and led me down the hall. To my delight their room was in the tower. The walls were octagonal, just like I’d imagined. Two beds and two dressers were lined up around the room, the beds almost like spokes.
    His two sisters were wrestling with a box, their small hands trying to pull the tape off. They turned their heads to us when we walked in the room, their dark lashed eyes staring up at Ren.
    One of them had pigtails and the other twin wore her hair in little blue plastic barrettes that matched her outfit. The one in barrettes glanced over at me but only for a moment. Her attention was all on Ren.
    “Ren, open this for me!”
    He knelt down and looked up at me. “This is Jenny,” he said, nodding at her. “And this is Mandi.”
    “Hi,” I said.
    They both said “hi” at the same time, blinking up at me.
    He knelt down next to her. “Okay Jenny.  Let me help you.”
    Jenny sighed and moved away, letting him sit next to her. He slid his finger under the tape and pulled it. The tape ripped away from the box and Mandi gasped and moved closer to the box.
    He pulled the tape off and then went to work on the rest of the tape until finally the flaps were free. The girls dove into the box, pulling out their toys.
    Jenny held up a doll triumphantly. “It’s my doll!”
    Mandi scrambled around inside the box and held up  a car. “It’s my favorite car!”
    Jenny demanded, “Do another box, Ren.”
    “I can help, too,” I offered. Soon we were both busy prying at tape. It was easier for me because I had fingernails, so we worked out a system. I started the tape and he finished it. We got all the boxes open and watched them unearth all their captive toys .
    “You’ll have to put them back in the boxes until we get your shelves up,” Ren said.
    Jenny brushed her doll’s hair, answering without looking up, “We know.”
    After we left them I whispered, “They are so sweet!”
    He looked at me and rolled his eyes. “Sometimes. Mandy is a screamer and Jenny fake cries when she wants something.”
    We made our way downstairs and I thanked him for the tour. “Now I can sleep at night instead of wondering what is inside the mysterious blue house down the street.”
    “Glad I could help, although it creaks at night. It’s kind of spooky.”
    A gust of wind caught us both as we stepped out of the door.
    “So does mine. You’ll get used to it. Ghosts and old wood and all that.”
    “You believe in ghosts?” He dropped the skateboard and shoved it toward me with his foot. I hopped on, carefully.
    “Sure. Why not? It’s probably why I don’t watch horror movies. Do you?”
    “Watch horror movies?” he asked.
    “No…believe in ghosts?”
    He paused for a moment, measuring me. “Yes.”
    “Well, if you need any help chasing them away, let me know,” I teased.
    He grinned. “I’m fine, thanks.”
    I wobbled on the board and then pushed it along, falling off at least five times and starting over until I reached Hank’s driveway.
    “Hold still,” he said, and I stood on the board. I kept my balance, my arms out and my feet seesawing back and forth. He put his hands in the curve of my back and a thrill of pleasure ran up my spine--right before it tickled horribly. I jumped off the board, laughing.
    “I’m so sorry, I’m really ticklish.”
    An evil smile crossed his face. “Really?”
    “Yes. I mean it,” I said backing away, my hands over the place where he had touched me.
    “You’re a mess. I can’t even