Doll Bones Read Online Free

at Poppy’s house? Except that he remembered seeing it the night before. And he wouldn’t have left it anywhere unless there was a reason—unless they were in the middle of an elaborate battle where everything had to stay exactly where it was. Which they were not.
    He looked around helplessly.
    “Mom!” Zach shouted, walking to the door of his room and flinging it open, stalking out into the hall. “Mom! What did you do with my stuff? Did you take my bag?”
    “Zachary?” she called up from downstairs. “That’s the second time you’ve slammed—”
    He ran down the steps, cutting her off in mid-scold. “Where’s my bag? The action figures. The models and cars. All of them. They’re not upstairs.”
    “I didn’t take anything out of your room. I bet it’s underneath one of the Kilimanjaro-size piles of laundry up there.” She smiled as she got down a stack of plates, but he didn’t smile back. “Clean your room and I bet the bag turns up.”
    “No, Mom, they’re gone .” Zachary glanced over at his father and was surprised to see the expression on his dad’s face—an expression he wasn’t sure how to interpret.
    She followed Zach’s gaze, turning to Zach’s father, her voice very quiet. “Liam?”
    “He’s twelve years old, playing with a bunch of crap,” he said, getting up from the couch and raising his hands in a placating way. “He’s got to grow up. It was time he got rid of them. He should be concentrating on friends, listening to music, goofing off. Zach, trust me, you won’t miss them.”
    “Where are they?” Zach asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
    “Forget it, they’re gone,” his father said. “There’s no point in throwing a tantrum.”
    “Those figures were mine !” Zach was so angry he could barely think. His voice shook with anger. “They were mine.”
    “Someone’s got to get you ready for the real world,” said his father, his face flushing red. “Be mad all you want, but it’s done. Done. Do you understand me? It’s time you grew up. End of discussion.”
    “Liam, what were you thinking?” Zach’s mother demanded. “You can’t just go making decisions without talking—”
    “Where are they?” Zach snarled. He had never talked to his father this way, never talked to any adult this way. “What did you do with them?”
    “Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” his dad said.
    “Liam!” His mother’s voice was cautioning.
    “GIVE THEM BACK!” Zach shouted. He was out of control and he didn’t care.
    His father stopped for a moment, his expression suddenly uncertain. “I threw them out. I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d be this upset. They’re just plastic—”
    “In the garbage?” Zachary rushed out the door and down the steps. Two big dented metal trash cans were at the end of the lawn, resting on the curb. He pulled off the lid of one with numb fingers and threw it against the road with a clang .
    Please , he thought. Pleasepleaseplease.
    But the inside of the can was empty. The trash truck had already come and gone.
    It felt like a punch to the gut. William the Blade and Max Hunter and all the others were dead. Without them, all their stories would be dead too. He wiped his face against the sleeve of his shirt.
    Then he turned back to the house. His father was silhouetted in the doorway.
    “Hey, I’m sorry,” he said.
    “Don’t bother trying to be my father anymore,” Zach said, walking up the front steps and past him. “It’s too late for that. It was too late years ago.”
    “Zachary,” his mother said, her hand reaching out to touch his shoulder, but he walked past her.
    His father just stared at him, his face stricken.
    In his room, Zachary looked up at the ceiling, trying to quiet the feelings inside him. He didn’t finish his homework. He didn’t eat dinner, even though his mother brought up a plate and set it down on his desk. He didn’t change out of his clothes into his pajamas. He didn’t cry.
    Zachary tossed and