Nøtteknekkeren Read Online Free PDF

asked.
    “Just… I guess there’s some sort of static electricity in the air,” I said, unconsciously shaking my hand. The tips of my fingers felt a little numb for a second.
    “I guess so,” Yvo agreed, looking at me curiously, and his eyes were too interested in me all of a sudden. I felt almost naked, and wondered why he was staring at me like that. But I was also tired, and my mind could have been playing tricks on me.
    Rik snorted. “You two play with dolls. I’m going to bed. And you’re not waking me up at six in the morning.” Rik looked at his watch. “Even though it’s barely eleven. I can’t remember the last time I went to bed this early.” He paused for a second and leered at us. “Alone.”
    “Don’t be crude,” Yvo scolded him.
    I frowned. It should be later than that. The party had started about seven, or at least Yvo and Rik had gotten me out of the bathroom then. I had danced, eaten, and then danced some more. My body and mind told me it should be about three in the morning, not the eleven Rik was claiming. I pulled my phone out of my pants to check the time. Barely after eleven. So why was I so tired?
    “You couldn’t take my word on it,” Rik snarled.
    “It felt later,” I apologized.
    Yvo shot me a look, a mixture of surprise and respect. Thankfully, Rik didn’t see that look. He was stomping off to his room, sounding like a pregnant yak as his footsteps echoed down the hallway.
    “I also need to take my leave,” Yvo said. He paused. “I’ve missed you, Thijs. I was never happy about your parents’ decision to stop attending these parties that last Christmas.”
    “And why was that?” I asked, hoping Yvo would be able to tell me anything about that. “What happened to make them want to do it?”
    Had Rik known why they made that decision, and that was why he had stopped coming? A cold chill went up my spine. Had their choice been one of the reasons we were in that odd accident? It was stupid and paranoid, but some part of me had always believed that accident wasn’t as innocent as it had looked. It was strange only that section of the road had been icy.
    Yvo smiled wearily at me, looking ancient all of a sudden. “Let’s discuss this in the morning. I am an old man, and I do need my sleep.”
    I wanted to press him, but I felt I would be as rude as Rik if I did. Yvo was tired. The morning would be time enough to hear what he had to say.
    “I don’t know if I want Rik around….”
    Because handing my brother something else to give me trouble over wasn’t smart. But Rik also seemed to have some sort of sixth sense about finding me when I didn’t want him to, so I wouldn’t get the privacy I had been trying to find.
    Yvo nodded. “Your brother can be somewhat… difficult when dealing with these matters.” He sighed. “That was one of the reasons I had hoped….”
    I bit my lip. “Hoped what?” I asked.
    “Difficult when dealing with him about anything is closer to the truth,” Yvo continued, ignoring my question. Wow, Uncle Yvo really knew my brother. He walked over and hugged me. “Go to sleep, my boy. We’ll talk in the morning without your brother hearing us.”
     
     
    I CREPT down the stairs. It was late, almost midnight, and I knew I should be in bed. Uncle Yvo had gone to bed after our talk, closing the doors to the ballroom and saying the servants would deal with it. I hadn’t seen anyone who looked like a servant since I got there, even though the place was spotless and looked like an army of brownies were taking care of the place.
    I didn’t want to be in the way of the cleanup crew, but I wanted to spend some time looking at the Christmas tree. I was trying to recapture some of the Christmas spirit I had lost over the years. I put my hand on the knob, hoping to find it unlocked. I didn’t know what I would do if it was locked, besides the obvious choice of going back to bed. But the door was unlocked, and I easily pushed the heavy wooden door