Dollhouse Read Online Free

her.”
    Ethan stared at Lacey thoughtfully. “Yeah, she might have tried that. She could also get lost trying that.”
    He cupped his hands over his mouth and bellowed Aisha’s name twice, his voice rising in desperation.
    “Ethan, we have to go. My mom will be waiting. I have to be there on time or she’ll freak.” I didn’t want to admit the real reason—night was coming. I couldn't imagine being stuck out here in complete darkness.
    “We can’t leave Aish here by herself.” Lacey shot me a pleading look.
    “Look—I’m going to walk you girls back to the path,” Ethan told us. You just need to follow it down to the pick-up. I’ll stay here and look, just in case.”
    Lacey nodded.
    “And what are you going to do, Ethan? Stay out here by yourself?” It wasn’t fair he had to stay out here because of Aisha’s stupidity.
    Ethan rubbed his forehead with the back of his fist. “I don’t know what else to do. And if—if she doesn’t turn up at the pick-up—call police rescue.”
    Ethan pressed his mouth together so hard the blood left his lips.
     
     

3. RAIF
     
    "Where's that jerk hiding? How come he hasn't showed his face at school all week?" Raif moved his strong frame in front of me.
    "I saw what you did to Ethan," I told him. "You have to stop doing that." The image of the bruise Raif had inflicted on Ethan's face deepened in my mind.
    I glanced around at the tall boys who stood behind Raif—I didn't know any of them well, but I knew they'd been friends with Ethan, at least, before Aisha disappeared. Now, it seemed they were all against him. The school buzzer rang out through the corridor, but none of the boys moved.
    Raif shook his head slowly and deliberately. “No I don’t. And I’m gonna keep doing it until he tells me what he did to my sister.”
    “He didn’t
do
anything," I insisted.
    “Why do you defend him?” His milky-green eyes darkened.
    “Aisha… loved Ethan. That’s why.” My voice was small, thin. I hoped my own feelings for Ethan weren't stamped plain as day on my face.
     “Yeah
loved him
past tense. Because my sister is dead. And she was stupid to ever think he was worth more than a maggot. Him
and his grandfather
are going to get what's coming to them. There's a tour guide who swears he saw that old bastard at Devils Hole the day Aish went missing.”
    Cold fingers reached around my spine. But I refused to let Raif see that his words had shaken me. There were rumors flying around everywhere, and I wasn't interested in listening to any of them. 
    Dominic brushed his fair, side-swept hair back from his eye, and raised his eyebrows at me.
    Was Dominic for real? Trying to do a pick-up stare while standing back and letting Raif grill me?
    “Both me and Lacey were there too," I replied to Raif. "Do you think we had something to do with her disappearance as well?”
    Raif gripped my shoulder. “Neither of you were the last to see my sister. Ethan was.”
    I tried to wrench my shoulder away, but he held tight. "That's not true, and you know it. He was just the last person to stay out there looking for her."
    The wood-paneled corridor seemed to close in around me, the ceiling and walls winding down until the end of the hallway was just a hazy pinprick. The smell of cleaning wax caught in my nostrils, making my mind spin. Panic coursed through me. It wasn't because of Raif, or Dominic, or the other boys standing there backing Raif. It was all the talking about Ethan when he wasn't here to defend himself. Worse, it was the sudden sense of the emptiness of the school now that Ethan was gone.
    Lacey and the twins—Caitlin and Brianna Denshaw —hastened towards me.
    "Hey, release the girl, King Kong!" Lacey glared up at Raif.
    Raif let his hand drop.
    I closed my eyes for a moment, filling my lungs with air.
    If had been anyone else, I doubted Raif would have listened. But no one ever took any offence at anything Lacey said. With her elfin face, squeaky voice and tiny frame,