Red

Chapter Fifteen: The Mysterious Flying Bed

Jazz sat in a chair with Ali's arm wrapped around her. That in itself was odd, I noted, but her pale skin tone and the pure fear flitting across her face was worse. 

"What's the matter?" I quietly asked Ginger. 

"She got a text from Bella. Or rather, from her husband Beastly. Bella's been poisoned," Ginger whispered back. 

Bella Beastly was mostly famous for willingly going to stay with Adam Beastly to free her father after he was imprisoned by Beastly. 

They eventually were married, which had everyone at the wedding discreetly murmuring "Stockholm syndrome!" under their breaths, but the two seemed genuinely happy to be together. 

"Pinnochio and I are going over there right now. You should go home. Gran, watch Jazz, okay?" Ginger instructed. 

"But-" I began

"Listen, kid, the last thing we need is you dying on us, too. Go. Home. That's an order." 

I didn't dare protest. Ginger seldom got angry, but when he did, he was explosive. 

Ginger dropped me off at my apartment on the way to Beastly Estate and I trudged inside. 

Hansel raised an eyebrow. "Where have you been?" 

"At work." I washed my hands in the kitchen sink. 

"Why don't you go to school? I mean, you're, like, seventeen," Hansel pointed out. 

I shrugged. "I finished school online so I've been volunteering at the GGPD to see if I'll get accepted into the academy," I explained, only half paying attention. 

Gretel stumbled out of their bedroom, her eyes glazed. "Red? I think I broke something," she said, her voice soft and pitiful.

Hansel jerked up from the kitchen table and followed her into the bedroom with me hot on his heels.

The bed was missing. There's no explanation, no dolled-up terms for the fact that the bed was just... gone. 

I raised an eyebrow, looking down at Gretel. "What- what did you do?"

Gretel's eyes widened. "It just- disappeared!" she insisted. 

"Um, no. Contrary to popular belief, bed's don't just disappear," I said. 

Hansel furrowed his brows. "No one believes that." 

I ignored him, still focused on Gretel. "So what did you do?" 

Gretel wove her fingers together. "I dunno." 

"How do you not know? It's a bed! It cannot be that easy to vanish!" 

Gretel's face crumpled. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice thick with tears. 

I froze. Cry children terrified me. "What do I do?" I hissed to Hansel. 

He rolled his eyes. "Give her a minute. I bet she's faking it." 

Sure enough, Gretel's tears quickly dried. She pouted. "I don't know where the bed went," she insisted. 

"Well, you're going to have to find it," I instructed. "I can't have you sleeping on the floor." 

"Wow, is Red Bennett... starting to care about something?" Hansel said sarcastically. 

I stared at him. "Uh, no, that bed was just super expensive and we've already covered the fact that I don't have a legitimate job." 

Gretel poked my side. "I think the bed is on the street."