Unraveling Isobel Read Online Free PDF

to school and study nursing or accounting. I think she thought she was being supermom for giving me a choice at all. The fact that I got a D in tenth-grade biology and couldn’t stand math didn’t faze her. Art was the one thing that I was really good at. Sometimes drawing felt like the only thing keeping me sane. It was like my pencil could figure things out before the rest of me.
    There was no point worrying about it right now, though. I got myself settled on my bed and started sketching the room, trying to catch the angle of the walls and the deep-set windows. I smudged a pencil line with my little finger to give the corner the feeling of piled shadows. I felt my focus narrow down to the point where my pencil met the paper. The wind outside picked up speed. I got lost in the picture, trying to make it work.
    Somewhere along the way, I must have fallen asleep.
    That’s when I saw her.

Chapter 5
    I woke up to a loud bang. I sat up in bed, confused. The lights were out. For a second I didn’t know where I was. I felt ungrounded, like I was floating in the darkness. The sensation made me dizzy. I put my feet down on the floor. If it worked for bed spins, it would work for this. When my feet touched the ice-cold floorboards, I was instantly alert.
    Another bang.
    I spun around and saw the window frame bounce against the wall. The latch must not have been secured, and the wind had blown it open. Another blast of freezing wind rushed in, and the curtain billowed out. For a second I felt a wave of relief. It was just the storm. Then there was a crack of lightning and the room lit up. And there she was.
    She was young, that age between chubby baby cheeks andgangly arms and legs. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at me. She seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see her. She was soaking wet. Her dark hair was slicked down on her head, and a piece of seaweed was glued to one cheek. She reached out, her hands opening and closing into tight fists. I yanked my feet back into bed and scrambled back until I was pressing against the headboard.
    Her eyes were blank and dark, like a black marker had colored them in. She took a step forward and opened her mouth wide. I couldn’t hear over my own scream if she made any noise at all. There was another crack of lightning, and then she wasn’t there. I closed my eyes and screamed again.
    The bedroom door crashed open and the overhead light came on. Nathaniel burst in wearing only his boxer shorts and breathing heavily. Even though I was terrified, I couldn’t help but notice that Nathaniel had been hiding a nice body under his designer jeans and button-down shirts. Dick and my mom were just a few steps behind him, their bathrobes tied tight at the waist. Not that I wanted to notice, but it was also apparent that Dick looked better dressed than half undressed.
    â€œWhat in the world?” Dick pushed past Nathaniel and latched the window shut.
    â€œAre you okay?” My mom rushed to the bed and took my hand.
    â€œThere was a girl,” I said.
    â€œA girl?” My mom looked over at Dick as if she expected him to explain.
    I pointed to the spot where I’d seen her. “I woke up and she was there. Just standing there.”
    â€œSounds like someone had a bit too much cake for dessert,” Dick said with a chuckle, but his mouth was turned down. “Upset stomachs make for bad dreams. Most likely the window blew open and the curtain caught your eye. Since you were half awake, you saw something that wasn’t there. New house must have given you the jitters.”
    My mom’s face registered relief, and she patted my arm reassuringly. Dick smiled as if he’d just gotten the correct answer on Jeopardy! I wasn’t so sure. It hadn’t felt like a Sara Lee–induced hallucination to me. Maybe I’d only been half awake at first, but once I touched my feet to the floor, I would have sworn I was wide awake.
    Then I realized