Free Hide and Seek by Caryn Larrinaga Page A

as no beefy kid with daddy issues could compare to the pure, relentless evil that filled the twins.
    Her life fell into a steady, safe rhythm. During the day, she was protected from Summer and Rain by the distance of several miles. During the evening, her mother’s watchful eye and knack for diplomatically diffusing any situation kept the peace around the house. The weeks turned into months, and by the time Christmas break rolled around Agatha thought she might be able to survive a life with her stepsisters.
    Meanwhile, back at St. Rita’s, nobody had the guts to stand up to the twins. Summer and Rain managed to charm everyone over the age of twenty, including the aging principal Mr. Hatchet, who’d felt sorry for the girls ever since they lost their mother at the age of five. He gave them every possible advantage and forgave the few transgressions that the indolent Mrs. Pierce managed to witness. The Farraday girls reigned supreme over the playground, making the recess bell feel like a death knell to every child from fifth grade on down.
    That is, until they disappeared without a trace.

Agatha stared out the window. Snow covered the park across the street from her house, burying the trunk of her favorite reading tree beneath four-foot-high drifts. Fat flakes drifted down from the sky, trapping her inside for the day.
    Maybe I could build a little igloo beneath the tree, she thought. Anything to get out of here before they wake up.
    She tilted her head to one side, straining her ears for any sound that might warn her that her stepsisters had already clambered out of bed. The house was only peaceful while Summer and Rain slept, and even then dread sat in Agatha’s stomach like a stone because she knew they wouldn’t sleep forever. She glared at the family photo hung above the mantle. Her mother had thought that having a portrait taken would help bring them all closer together, but Agatha just thought it was hideous. She and her mother sat on one side of a bench, their brown hair and tanned skin sharply contrasted against the blonde hair and fair complexions of her stepsisters and their father who sat beside them. Nobody in the photo looked particularly happy to be there.
    Sighing deeply, Agatha fingered the library book on her lap. In anticipation of the long winter break, she’d borrowed the entire Ramona series with a goal to finish all of them before school started again in January. She’d done pretty well so far; it was only Christmas Eve and she’d already torn through Beezus and Ramona and Ramona the Pest. The trick was to pack a sandwich and sneak out of the house before the twins woke up. Agatha was narrow enough that the large sycamore tree in the park could hide her from the twins’ eyes, and if they couldn’t see her, they’d move on to other targets. Their favorite haunt was the Hijinks Arcade on Main Street, where they could shake down small children and defend their high scores on Rampage .
    Last night, however, the heavens had been hell-bent on delivering a white Christmas, and Agatha’s plans for the day had been crushed beneath the snow. Now she was stuck indoors with the twins, and she was sure they wouldn’t be content to drink hot cocoa and watch holiday videos with her. No, they’d find some way to take all the joy out of Christmas Eve.
    Agatha wondered if Christmas morning would be any better. It would be her first with her new stepfamily, and she was counting on her mother’s calming presence to help her acclimate to the Farraday’s new and strange traditions. For one thing, the Three Wise Men already looked down upon baby Jesus in the manger. Every piece of the nativity set was lined up on the mantle. It didn’t make any sense—the magi were supposed to wander the house until Epiphany, when they’d reach the Holy Family and offer up their gifts. What were they already doing at the stable? And the tiny infant figure was supposed to be hidden somewhere so that her mother could make him