The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

her, she found herself in the same room she had been dreaming
about.
    In the dream, Charlie was in a Spartan room where everything
was immaculate white, from sheets to blinds, from bed to table, from ceiling to
floor. She felt anxious about a knock on the door she knew would come, but the
dream always ended before she opened it.
    This time though, the dream had a strange twist added to it.
Charlie responded to someone knocking on the door, only to be shocked out of
her wits to find the person knocking was herself.
    After an hour of tossing and turning, sleep playing an
elusive game, Charlie got up and hit the shower. She was downstairs by five
thirty.
    By the time Carl and Sarah came down at six, a breakfast of
crisp bacon strips, scrambled eggs, yogurt, apple slices and buttered toast
were neatly laid out on their plates. Brewed coffee and freshly squeezed orange
juice completed Chef Charlie’s preparation.
    Carl was ecstatic. “Breakfast deluxe courtesy of our
Princess!”
    Sarah was more suspicious and asked, “Why are you up earlier
than usual, Charlene Hartley?”
    Charlie minced no words, “Mom, Dad, you won’t believe this!
It’s the weirdest dream I’ve ever had and the odd part is that everything is
crystal clear in my memory, like it actually happened. When I woke up, the
faint scent of antiseptic still lingered in my nostrils.”
    Sarah listened intently to her daughter as she recounted the
dream. Her attention was especially caught by the fact that Charlie saw herself
when she opened the door. “What a dream, I must admit.”
    Sarah looked at her husband, waiting for his opinion.
“That’s an interesting nocturnal encounter. But I wouldn’t give it a second
thought though. Charlie, you’ve been stressed with a number of things related
to your powers these past days. You really need a break.”
    Carl buried his face in the morning paper, but the concerned
look did not escape Sarah.
    When Charlie went upstairs, Sarah took the chance. “What’s
the matter, Hon?”
    Carl smiled but said nothing. In the back of his mind, the
image of two car seats jumped at him. “I would have seen the other child if it
had been there,” he reminded himself for the thousandth time.

CHAPTER
2: Saving Hilary
    Waiting patiently wasn’t Charlie’s virtue. She was a
stickler for time and got jumpy when people showed up late. So when her parents
arrived an hour late for dinner, they already knew their daughter would rush
them, chattering more quickly than usual as if trying to catch up on lost time,
rubbing her chin with her right hand while engaging them in conversation. 
Carl thought Charlie a bit odd this evening, but he was a wise man not to say
anything.
    After dinner, Charlie put some popcorn in the microwave and
they all went to the family room where Carl watched the Philadelphia Phillies
play against the Detroit Dodgers. At the fifth inning, in between mouthfuls of
popcorn, Carl handed his daughter an envelope. “Hey, Princess, guess what we
got for your eighteenth birthday.”
    The envelope yielded three tickets to the Red Sox/Yankee
game in Boston. “Aww, Dad, this is so cool! I’ve never been to a live game
ever!”
    Carl was pleased with the expression on his daughter’s face.
“Your mom and I figured it would give us an excuse to take you to Boston so we
could visit Harvard before school starts.”
    Sarah gleefully added, “We saved enough for a couple of
nights’ stay at the Fenway Park Hotel as well. “
    Charlie jumped up and down then pranced around the room like
a kid, squealing in delight. “You’d make a fine cheerleader with that dance
bit, Princess,” Sarah teased as she set some glasses and a pitcher of lemonade
on the center table.
    “I can’t wait till then! You and dad sure know the way to my
heart. I love you guys!”
    A week later, the Hartley’s opted for the four hour scenic
drive to Boston. They drove through Middletown where Wesleyan University
regaled them with its sprawling