Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #2)(14)

On the living room rug, Charlie was playing cards, what looked like a loose version of solitaire, but Mina could tell right away he was cheating. For one reason, she could see five aces and six queens, so there were obviously multiple decks in play, and he kept shuffling cards from the back to the front.

Mina chuckled, and Charlie looked up and made a loving brotherly face at her, which meant he scrunched up his nose and stuck out his tongue. Mina crossed her eyes and mimicked the tongue gesture. Charlie’s face lit up in joyful glee at his sister’s retaliation. Sara was making popcorn in the microwave and looked like she was getting ready to settle down with a good book. Mina said hi, snagged a handful of popcorn out of her mother’s bowl and retreated to her room with a quick comment about studying.

Once her door was closed, she grabbed a light jacket purposely ignoring the various hoodies hanging in her closet. She clutched a small brown paper bag that she’d left on her desk, threw open her window, and stepped out onto the fire escape. The building was old and still had a rarely used fire escape, which led to Mina’s rooftop retreat.

It was every teenager’s dream to have a retreat of her own. It wasn’t grand, but it was solely Mina’s. The few lawn chairs that she had dragged up to the roof were mismatched and slightly broken dumpster finds, but she thought they were perfect. She had also decorated the roof with various fake plants, Christmas lights, outdoor party lights, and a lone pink flamingo. Faint music from the Italian restaurant down the road song drifted to her haven plus the mixed smells of Chinese and Italian food always created the oddest aroma of home.

She pulled out the crumpled paper bag and removed her latest curbside find, a medium-size garden gnome with blue pants and red pointy hat. She wasn’t sure what possessed her to save this somewhat chipped piece of clay, but it looked lonely. To be honest, she kind of felt sorry for the statue.

Twisting a stray lock of hair around her finger, she scanned the various ledges and shelves she had stacked with knickknacks and plants. She decided to place the gnome next to one of the few living plants on the roof, a rose bush. Placing him in his new home, Mina stood back and picked up a stick and pretended to knight the little fellow over both shoulders.

“I dub thee, Sir Nomer,” she spoke in a kingly tone of voice, her heart soaring.

“Well, that’s a stupid name if I ever heard one myself, and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard lots of stupid names.”

Mina froze at the male voice that seemed to come out of the air, and she stared at the garden gnome in disbelief. “Did you just say something?” she whispered to the gnome.

“Don’t tell me you think the gnome can talk? Well, yes, some gnomes do talk. But, most are surly and wouldn’t really speak to you in the first place anyway, but certainly not cheap store bought ones,” the male voice spoke again and sounded closer. It only took Mina a second now to recognize the teasing tone of Jared’s voice, and she stiffened in irritation.

“I happen to think that Nomer is a great name,” Mina huffed out without looking at him.

“Obviously, it’s for stupid dolls,” Jared answered.

Mina turned around to confront Jared, but he wasn’t standing behind her. Looking up, she frowned disapprovingly. “You should get down from there before you hurt yourself.”

He was sitting on a brick outbuilding above her, wearing jeans and a green t-shirt. His dark hair ruffled in the wind, and he had an incredibly impish look to him. He jumped off of the building to land next to her. Pounding his chest playfully, he replied, “Chillax, I’m not going to hurt myself. I’m made of pretty sturdy stuff.” He looked at her, and his grey eyes went soft when he spoke.

“Yeah, like your heart, it’s made of stone,” Mina responded angrily.

Jared actually looked a little hurt at the barb. “Maybe, but that’s because no one has ever taken the time to break through the stone and see that I do actually have one.”

“Well, maybe it’s because you are a jerk!” she snapped.

“Well, maybe I only pretend to be a jerk to keep from getting too close to people!” His tone slowly began to rise in pitch and volume.

“Then you must be lonely ‘cause you seem to have yourself closed off from the world and protected just fine!” She turned angrily and pointed her finger, poking him hard in the chest.

“No! I don’t have to protect myself from others. Only you!” He spoke the last two words barely above a whisper. He looked down at Mina’s small finger jabbing him in the chest and frowned.

Mina didn’t hear his whispered comment and sighed dramatically, dropping her finger. “Jared, you speak in riddles. Why can’t you just spit it out? I don’t have the time to figure out who you are, and what you want me to do or not do. Half the time, I think you are some kind of guardian angel my father sent to watch over me, and the other half I think you are the devil himself come to plague me about my curse.”

“I’m not-” he began.

“I don’t care anymore,” she interrupted. “I’ve had a horrible night. I got into a fight with my best friend. No, my only friend. And my old boyfriend doesn’t even remember me. Let’s not even mention you. I’ve wasted enough time thinking you had died, and you weren’t even hurt. I have plenty of reasons to be furious at you.

“Even tonight, I have no clue how you got here or why you’re even here? Why are you here, Jared? Can you tell me who you are? Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me the truth? One hundred percent truth, no lies, right now?”