Unmasked Read Online Free PDF Page A

lied.
    “Come on, Saint, only the Unwanteds refuse to dance. Trust me, it’ll be fun.”
    She was quite certain that they had very different definitions of fun . 
    Noelle cast a sideways glance at a few misfits that seemed like they would hit the extras squad before she could snap her fingers.
    The Author needs me for this adventure. I can’t be a ‘nobody’ in order to do that, so I need to prove my worth to these people.
    She inhaled deeply somehow knowing that her instincts howled at her to back away, and then grasped Blade’s hand as he led her to the center of the dance floor.
     

Chapter Three – Unbelievable
    Noelle felt her heart somersault backwards in her chest when she neared the center of the circle of atrocity. She averted her eyes from some of the dancers as they swayed in awkward directions.
    Just a few dances, she reminded herself softly as fear gripped her by the throat making it difficult to swallow.
    After a few dances, she would tell Blade that she was tired and didn’t want any more adventure that night. A thousand excuses swarmed in her head about how to escape the circle that grew ever tightly knit around her.
    Suddenly a pair of sweaty palms gripped her tightly while she attempted to replicate the moves of the girl in front of her. She cast a dissolving glare at Blade who kept his fingers wrenched into her skin like nails to wood.
    He pulled her close and rested his head on her shoulder as he whispered, “Come on, Saint, why do you think that you’re so high and mighty? Do we need to go through a thousand obstacles to please you, or can you just accept love for what it is?”
    Love? This is love?
    Her body froze as she stood stiff as a board.
    The Author once told her that he loved her, and she felt complete and whole. Was there another kind of love that she was missing? Did the Author forget to tell her about this?
    Well, he seems to have forgotten to tell me a lot, Noelle thought bitterly remembering that he never once mentioned Fame or Flop , or how nasty certain campers could be. Or just anything about campus in general.
    Everyone knew everything about the campus, except for her.
    She froze again feeling an icy sensation crawl up her skin as she watched the other dancers frivolously moving in odd directions. She could feel her heart pound anxiously in her chest whenever Blade gripped her tightly. He pulled her closer and closer until she could feel his hot breath pouring down her neck.
    This isn’t right – This can’t be right – Noelle, run away now!
    But something kept her paralyzed in that spot.
    Suddenly, without thinking, she felt her hands shove Blade’s as far away from her as possible. She secretly loved and hated herself for this.
    Love: she yearned for this the moment she landed on the dance floor, to escape Blade’s talon clutches.
    Hate: with every motion of her hand, she proved more and more that she deserved to be an Unwanted.
    “Saint,” he crooned slowly, “is it just because we’re moving too fast? We can take it slowly, now.”
    Noelle didn’t have the heart to tell him that it was the fact they were “moving” at all. The very sight of Blade disgusted her now. The way he held her like some prized trophy, she wanted to disappear forever.
    Without a reply, she threw her hands out in front of her to barricade through the crowd, passing through each crevice and corner like liquid, and then making a mad dash toward the guest cabin.
    #
    The tears inevitably came when she was certain that she was truly alone. The essence of musty wood encompassed her breath as her steps creaked along the old floorboards of the guest cabin. She carefully tiptoed her way across the room afraid that at any moment, she might fall through the floor.
    She positioned her palms up to the corners of her eyes to stem the flow of the tears, but they hardly helped.
    She felt used, degraded – loved…?
    Oh, please tell me this isn’t love, she begged in a silent prayer. Love can’t hurt