Don't Close Your Eyes! Read Free

help you. No lie.”
    I believed him. I was so desperate, so terrified, I believed him.
    I glanced to the side of the room. But Nicky and Tara had disappeared.
    I turned back to Colin. “That old book was filled with ghost stories,” I told him. “It had a story in it about an evil ghost named Inkweed.”
    “Sure it wasn't
Stinkweed?”
Colin asked, sniffing my armpit.
    “Please don't try to make jokes,” I said. “Come on. You promised you wouldn't laugh at me.”
    He made a zipping motion over his lips.
    “The book fell on the floor,” I continued. “And something
horrible
happened. The words started to move. The ink all slid together. It became a big black puddle.”
    Colin shut his eyes and scrunched up his face. I couldn't tell what that meant.
    “The puddle floated off the book and formed the shape of a man,” I said, my voice shaking. “Inkweed. Inkweed lifted off the book and … and …”
    It was so frightening, it was hard to say. “And Inkweed floated into me,” I finally choked out.
    “I … I'm in so much trouble, Colin,” I said. “That evil ghost—he's inside me. He can control me. I … I don't know what to do.”
    I was trembling hard now. I couldn't say another word.
    Colin opened his eyes. He slid his arm around my shoulder again. “Hey, no problem, Max,” he said softly. “Good you confided in your older bro. I know how to get Inkweed out.”
    My mouth dropped open. “You
do?”

5
    “Y EAH. NO PROBLEM,” COLIN said. “Here. Watch.”
    He pulled back his arm and let me have it—a solid punch to the soft part of my stomach.
    “Urrrrrk.”
A sound escaped my throat that I'd never heard before.
    I doubled over in agony, holding my stomach. “Urrrk urrrk urrrk,” I kept honking. I struggled to breathe.
    Colin stood watching me with his hands at his waist. “Did the nasty ghost come out?” he asked.
    “The only thing … that came out… was … my dinner,” I groaned.
    It took a long time to stand up straight. When I did, I glared at Colin angrily. “Hey—you said you wouldn't laugh at me.”
    He tossed back his head and laughed for about five minutes.
    “Maxie, don't you ever get tired of making up these lame ghost stories?” he asked. “Inkweed!Stinkweed! You're too old for that dumb stuff! Did you really think I'd believe you?”
    “Yes,” I said, shaking a fist at him. “Yes. I confided in you, Colin. I trusted you because … because …”
    I didn't know why.
    “Okay, okay,” Colin said, raising both hands as if surrendering. “Here's another idea.”
    He disappeared into the hallway for a few seconds. When he returned, he had three fat rolls of toilet paper in his hands. He grabbed me around the waist, held me tight, and started wrapping toilet paper around my chest.
    “Stop it!” I shouted. “What are you doing?”
    “Making you a straitjacket,” he said. “Because you're nuts!”
    “Stop it! Let go of me!” I tried to squirm away, but he was too strong.
    Colin snickered. “Dad just got back from the outlet store. He bought three cases of toilet paper. So I'm putting it to good use.”
    He wrapped it around my chest, my waist, my arms. I slumped in place and didn't try to struggle. What was the point?
    “This looks good on you, Maxie,” he said, wrapping it around my head. “A cool new look.”
    “Mmmmmff mmmmmfff,” I said.
    “Maybe this is how mummies felt,” he said. “Of course, they were dead first.”
    He wrapped a while longer. I didn't move or struggle. It was better than being punched in the stomach.
    Mom usually tries to make Colin stop torturing me, but Dad thinks he's a riot. Dad thinks everything Colin does is wonderful. He says Colin isn't mean to me. He's only trying to make a man out of me.
    “Hey, Freak Face, I'm telling Dad you're wasting good toilet paper,” Colin said. I heard him walk out of my room giggling.
    As soon as he was gone, I struggled out of the paper cocoon. My heart was pounding, and I felt dizzy.
    I