Pretty Please (Nightmare Hall) Read Online Free Page A

the door. “Go sit down,” he said. “I’ll get rid of it.” And he disappeared inside, closing the door behind him.
    No one said anything as Jo, tears beginning to slide down her cheeks, returned to sink down upon her bed. Kelly joined her, putting a comforting arm around Jo’s shoulders. “Someone on campus has a really sick sense of humor,” Reed said awkwardly, leaning against the dresser. “Don’t let it throw you, Jo, okay?”
    Jo glared at him. Easy for him to say. His face didn’t look like he’d been run over by a lawnmower. There was no visible damage at all from the fire the night before. He was as gorgeous as ever. Still, Reed was only trying to be nice.
    Evan came out of the bathroom, his hands filled with a bundle of black. “I’ll get rid of this,” he offered, and left the room.
    “How well do you know that guy?” Carl asked when the door had closed.
    Jo looked up at him. “What?”
    “Well, I mean, you just met him, right? Last night?”
    Jo nodded.
    “Did he seem like the kind of guy who would go in for practical jokes? Creepy practical jokes, for instance?”
    Jo was about to retort, Don’t be ridiculous, when she realized that she couldn’t. After all, how much did she know about Evan? Almost nothing.
    “It’s just that he did ask about the bathroom mirror,” Carl continued. “None of the rest of us even thought about a second mirror. It was almost like…like he knew .”
    Jo wanted more than anything to say, No, you’re wrong, Carl. It couldn’t have been Evan. But she was too hurt and confused to say anything.
    Evan returned to a roomful of silence. He picked up on it right away. “Sorry, folks, but you’ve got the wrong guy,” he said drily. “I know I’m the new kid on the block in this group. But I’m also the only one here who didn’t know Jo’s room number.”
    “Anyone can get a room number,” Carl said stubbornly. “Piece of cake.”
    Evan smiled lazily. “This is true. But that ‘anyone’ would have to have a reason to make Jo miserable.” He looked at Jo. “Making Jo miserable isn’t on my agenda. You can take my word for that or not, your choice. But I think a better idea would be figuring out who does want to make Jo miserable.”
    Jo felt her lacerated face grow warm as Evan smiled at her.
    “I think Carl was right in the first place,” Kelly said, patting Jo’s arm consolingly. “It has to be a joke. An awful one, but still…maybe one of Missy’s friends did it.”
    Nan nodded agreement. “Look, I’ve got a newspaper meeting. Carl, you’re due there, too. Anyway, we should go and let Jo get some rest. Remember,” waving a finger at Jo, “the doctor said you’re supposed to stay in bed today and tomorrow. And take your pain medication, okay? Don’t try and tough this out when you can take a pill and sleep.”
    “Yes, mother.”
    “I should go, too,” Kelly said reluctantly. “I’m supposed to meet Cath Devon at the mall to get stuff for her party next week, but I hate leaving you here all alone. Are you going to take your pill and go to sleep? If you’re not, I’ll stay.”
    “I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Jo said. Then, in a gentler tone, “Go ahead and go. Bring me back a magazine? I promise I’ll do as I’m told, like the good girl that I am. Go on. How can I get any sleep if you’re hovering all over me? But,” she added lightly, “you might want to lock the door when you leave, okay? So…so no one will barge in and wake me up.”
    Saying he would call her later, Evan left with the others.
    When they had gone, Jo sat on the bed, her hands folded in her lap. Her face stung like crazy. She would take her pill and crawl under the covers and go to sleep, forgetting all about the cruel mirror joke.
    But for the first time since she had arrived on campus in late August, Jo wasn’t comfortable in her own room.
    The cozy room that had felt like home to her since the day she’d moved in now seemed suddenly different.
    Jo