Read Online Matchbox Girls by Chrysoula Tzavelas - Free Book Online Page A

And then, taking into account current events, added, Possibly metaphorically speaking, writing letters from Cellblock 2-A.
    Her misgivings had no words of their own in reply, so she said to Penny, “All right. I won’t.” And from somewhere inside, she found a smile to share with Penny. Penny returned a little smile of her own.
    Kari appeared at Marley’s elbow, holding her fairy doll and a container of dental floss. “Put this on her,” she ordered, and thrust the dental floss at Marley. “She’s naughty. She keeps trying to run away. She needs a leash.”
    Marley blinked at Kari, and then down at the dental floss. But Penny spoke before she could. “That’s not a good leash. But I know what to get.” She disappeared into Branwyn’s room and reappeared holding a spool of white ribbon and a pair of scissors.
    “Put it ’round her neck.” Kari gave the doll a kiss. “You can’t trust fairies. They’re fun but trouble.” She sounded like she was quoting something she’d heard somewhere.
    “Please, I object to strangled fairies,” Marley said. “Put it around her waist instead.”
    “Leashes go ’round the neck. Like the doggies.”
    Penny shifted her gaze between Marley and Kari. “It’s called a harness if it goes around the body. They even make harnesses for little kids.” She tied the ribbon in a cross over the doll’s torso, then snipped off a long tail.
    Kari looked dubious, but she took the doll back. After inspecting it, she wandered off to bother her sister, dragging the doll behind her.
    Penny’s faint smile had real pleasure behind it now. “What else can I do to help?”
    Marley looked around. The mess in the apartment seemed to reflect the disorganization in her head. There were plenty of things that needed doing, but—
    “I know!” Penny announced. “How about I take the girls out to lunch and give you an hour or two to work? You said you had to get something done.”
    That was a good idea.
    No. No, it wasn’t. No sooner had Marley considered the idea than a wave of nausea and panic swept over her. It was the same as the day before, when the lawyer had tried to take them away.
    “Hey, what’s the matter?” said Penny sharply. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
    With an effort, Marley dropped her gaze to the carpet and breathed carefully, waiting for the internal visions of misery and doom to fade away. It was the screams heard by her mind’s ear that faded last. Her own screams.
    “Sorry,” she whispered. “Panic attack.” She looked up in time to see Penny’s face change, the warmth shuttered away.
    “You don’t trust me.”
    The sick feeling didn’t fade, though. “That’s not it. I don’t want—it seems like—” Marley fumbled for an explanation. She had to find an explanation because she couldn't let Penny take the kids away from her.
    “Don’t worry about it,” said Penny. She stood up and grabbed her purse. “I should go, anyhow. I just remembered I have something to do myself. It was good chatting with you.”
    She stalked to the door while Marley sat curled in on herself on the couch, wretched with confusion. Penny yanked the door open, then turned to Marley, doubt playing across her face. She almost spoke. Then she stepped outside, and there was nothing but the door.
    Kari reappeared next to Marley. “Uncle says at least angels are honest. If you can get them to talk to you. Will you put a leash on Lissa’s fairy too?”
     
     

-nine-
     
     
    T he apartment was stifling. Marley tried to think about Zachariah. She examined the ciphered book fragment again, watching the way the patterns seemed to waver and move when she stared at them for too long. She threw herself from couch to computer chair to dining room table, but all she could do was rehash the conversation with Penny in her head.
    At last, after peanut butter sandwiches and medication, she decided to go out again. She considered the possibility of the Interns of Evil reappearing,