3 Conjuring Read Online Free Page A

questioning. “Is that what I told you? Well, I guess I’ve grown up a little,” Aric shrugged helplessly.
    “You dated her?” I asked him pointedly.
    “We were in love,” Jessica replied.
    “We were not in love,” Aric said hastily. “It was just a fling. Last fall.”
    Jessica frowned. “Until he told me that he couldn’t date a woman for more than a month. He said it was physically impossible.”
    I hiked an eyebrow as I regarded Aric. “Physically impossible?”
    Aric merely shrugged.
    Jessica turned back to me. “Are your parents rich or something?”
    Well, that was a weird question. “No,” I shook my head. “I mean, we’re not poor, but we’re not rich either. What does that have to do with anything?”
    “Well, I just figured you were some girl Aric’s father se t him up with,” Jessica smiled haughtily. “There has to be a reason he settled for you. I mean down with you.”
    “Hey!” I took a step forward – or tried to – but Aric snapped me back and kept me at his side.
    “Jessica, don’t you have somewhere else to be?” No w he looked aggravated. Better late than never, I guess.
    “I guess not,” Jessica said with a pronounced pou t. “Unless you have some place you’d like me to be.”
    Yep, that pretty much did it. I was reaching for Jes sica’s long brown hair without even thinking about what I was doing when Laura joined us on the balcony. “Oh, there you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you.”
    Aric was busy trying to rein in my hands, but he st ill found the energy to answer Laura. “Yeah, we were just getting some air.”
    “Oh, I was talking to Jessica,” Laura said shyly. “Not tha t I’m not happy to see you, too. I’m always happy to see the two of you. I don’t want you to think that I’m not happy to see you two.” Laura broke off lamely as she regarded me nervously.
    “How do you know Jessica?” I asked pointedly, changing the subject from potential murder to the mundane.
    “Well, we just met actually,” Laura replied easily, al though I could tell she sensed there was something else going on between the three of us. “We’re both computer majors, though, and I found out we have two classes together this semester so we were talking about starting a study group.”
    Over my dead body or, preferably, Jessica’s dead body.
    “That sounds ... .”
    “That sounds like a good idea,” Aric said quickly, p inning my wrists together with one hand to make sure I wasn’t going to make a grab for Jessica again. “I would just suggest doing it someplace else besides your dorm room.”
    “Why?” Laura looked confused.
    “Oh, just call it a hunch.”
    Jessica was eyeing Aric coolly now, but she directed her next question to Laura.
    “Your dorm room? Do you live with Zoe?”
    “I do,” Laura replied, confusion etched on her face as she glanced between all of us worriedly.
    “Well,” Jessica said, fixing me with a fake – and evil – smile. “Thi s sounds like it could be a lot of fun.”
    I was actually thinking exactly the opposite.

Three
    “So you didn’t want to spend the night at Aric’s new place last night?”
    Laura, Matilda, Kelsey and I were walking to the university center to buy books – and basically socialize – before classes started on Monday. Matilda and Kelsey were a few paces in front of us, murmuring softly between themselves. I had no idea what they were saying, but I had a feeling it was something mean. The distance between us gave Laura a chance to grill me about last night, though.
    “I thought I should spend the first night back at schoo l in my own room,” I lied. The truth was, after meeting Jessica, I was irritated just enough to need a night away from Aric. He had apologized profusely outside the apartment complex before we left, making myriad excuses for why he had dated Jessica – my favorite was temporary insanity – but I was turned off just enough to separate from him for the night. I figured a