Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 7

Graylee entered her house quietly. God knows she should have slammed the door, but she didn't feel like seeing or speaking to her mom or sister and that meant not drawing attention to herself.

Forgiveness was out of the question.

Then again, in order for forgiveness to be denied in the first place it would have to be requested, which Charlene had not done.

"Where were you?" Mom asked.

Graylee hadn't noticed her sitting in a dark corner of the living room.

She answered with a flip, "Out." Graylee kicked her shoes off and headed for the stairs.

"Charlene feels terrible about what she did," Mom said. "I know it doesn't excuse her, but it was Ryan Phillips's idea."

Sure, blame pear-faced Ryan Phillips. That's what minions were for—to take the fall.

Graylee glanced sideways at her mom through narrowed eyes. There was a tight frown and faraway look on her face.

"Ryan's been a bad influence on Charlene," Mom said.

Graylee gripped the banister railing and took the first step up, proceeding forward before her mom could say anything more. She locked herself inside her room and put a pair of headphones over her ears. Jem's "They" began playing. Graylee turned up the volume.

At some point, she woke lying atop her bed. Her iPod was beside her on the nightstand. She still had her jean skirt and embroidered blouse on.

Graylee tried to sit up, but found she was stuck on her back. A second attempt failed.

What the hell?

Then suddenly Raj McKenna materialized at the foot of the bed.

Graylee tried to scream, but no sound emerged. The grin on his face was full of wicked intention. He took a step closer until the bed sheets brushed his thighs. His jeans were tight; even his ribbed cotton tee clung to his torso. He was muscled. More muscled than Nolan, less than Blake, but not as top heavy and bulky as her sister's ex. Graylee swallowed and it was no longer to scream. Raj's eyes gleamed in the dark.

Graylee was able to lift herself to her elbows. Once she did, her eyes met Raj's gaze. His eyes dropped to her blouse. Graylee's heart thundered, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. Her blouse burst open.

Graylee shot up in bed, gasping and hugging her hands to her chest. With the flick of her finger, the light flipped on. Graylee made a quick scan of her room, but there was no sign of an intruder.

Just a dream, Gray.

Why then had she been wearing the exact same clothes she'd had on at school that day? Dreaming in detail—was that normal? Her outfit had been dead on, right down to her new red and black bra.

Graylee flung her pillow at the foot of her bed—just in case—but it didn't hit any invisible figures lurking at her bedside. She retrieved the pillow off the floor, punched it into shape, and curled up on her side.

* * *

Snow drifted from a faint blue ceiling overhead in a mass of wet clumps. The particles seemed to hover in the air, in no hurry to touch the pavement, where each speck of white melted upon contact. The flurries blotted out the houses across the street asGraylee waited for Thea the next morning.

Her mom suggested she wait inside, but Graylee wanted out of the house. Besides, there was something magical about the falling snow—a quietness that enveloped her and sealed out the rest of the world.