Fear Hall: The Beginning Read Online Free PDF Page A

anyone.”
    His face moved in and out of the pale light from the street. He didn’t blink. His eyes were locked on mine. His upper lip twitched.
    Nothing else moved.
    Time didn’t move.
    â€œReally,” I insisted. “No lie. We’re not going to tell, Darryl.” If only my voice didn’t tremble like that.
    Did it sound to him as if I were lying?
    His face didn’t give him away. He still didn’t blink. His expression was a blank. As if he were no longer in there.
    His lip twitched again.
    â€œOkay,” he said finally. He sighed and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket. “Okay.”
    â€œBut you should get help,” I told him.
    I shut my eyes. Had I said the wrong thing? Was he going to explode now? Was he going to hurt me?
    He grunted. His body relaxed. He loosened his fists, let his hands drop to his sides.
    I took a breath. “You have to get your temper under control,” I said softly.
    Darryl nodded. He still hadn’t blinked. “I’m working on it,” he said.
    â€œCan I leave now?” I asked timidly.
    His pale eyes shimmered in the dim light. “Hey, Jasmine?”
    â€œWhat?” I asked impatiently.
    â€œI promise.”
    â€œPromise what?”
    â€œI promise I won’t kill again,” he told me.
    Then he gripped my wrist and squeezed it really hard. And whispered, “Unless I have to.”

part three
 
Eden

chapter 10
    â€œE den, what are you doing?” Hope called to me from across the dorm room.
    â€œKnitting a pair of socks. What does it
look
like I’m doing?” I replied sarcastically.
    She could see perfectly well what I was doing. I was hunched over my little desk, writing a letter to my mother.
    But Hope always has to poke her nose into everything.
    She crossed the room and stood over my shoulder, reading my letter. I covered it up with one hand.
    Hope laughed. A bitter laugh. “Eden, you’re such a good girl,” she said. “Writing home to Mom.”
    I didn’t say anything. I knew that Hope didn’t get along with her mother. She was always telling Angel,Jasmine, and me such terrible stories about her childhood.
    Behind me, Jasmine was sprawled on her bed, her face buried in a textbook, as usual. I didn’t know where Angel was. Probably out with some guy. It was a safe bet.
    Hope sighed. I started to write again, but she didn’t go away. “Do you know what my mom used to call me?” she asked. “Do you know what my nickname was back home?”
    â€œIt couldn’t be worse than Fish,” Jasmine groaned. I turned and caught the bitter expression on Hope’s face. “She called me Buttertubs,” she said through clenched teeth.
    â€œExcuse me?” I cried, dropping my felt tip pen. “Why Buttertubs?”
    Hope’s eyes watered up, as if she were about to cry. “Because I was fat,” she replied. “I wasn’t even fat. I was a little chubby. Like I am now.”
    â€œAnd your mother called you Buttertubs?” I cried. “All the time?”
    â€œUsually just when my friends were around,” Hope said. She turned her face away and wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn’t want me to see how much the memory upset her.
    In some ways, Hope is very private.
    Jasmine raised her head from her book. “She did that? Really? Your mom called you by that name in front of your friends?”
    Hope nodded. “She loved embarrassing me. It was her only hobby.”
    She sighed again, crossed her arms in front of her blue sweater, and began pacing our small room. I followed her with my eyes.
    Hope didn’t look well. She hadn’t brushed her hair. Her face, which normally had a rosy color, was kind of yellowy. And her eyes looked wet and sickly.
    She was really upset and worried about Darryl, I knew. I could always tell. Whenever Hope got worked up about Darryl, she started