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again。 The carriage was painted gold and lined with purple velvet； and under the seat inside； in a
little leather chest； were fur rugs and muffs to keep your hands warm while you went out for a ride。
Best of all； eight white carousel horses with white feather plumes affixed to real leather harnesses
were pulling the carriage。
？e on； faster；faster ； giddyap；giddyap ！？ Georgie shouted at the carousel horses； cracking her
long leather whip and bouncing up and down in the red leather coachman？s seat。
Whoa。
Nate sat back on the seat beside her and tried to light another joint； but Georgie was bouncing
around so much； it fell right out of his hand。 ？Fuck！？ he cried； exasperated。 He leaned over the
side of the carriage to see where the joint had fallen on the white…painted wood floor； but the attic
was lit only by a single dim bulb and he couldn？t see the joint anywhere。
？That？s okay。？ Georgie jumped down from the carriage。 ？e on； there？s something I want to
show you。？
Reluctantly Nate left the joint where it had fallen and followed her to the other side of the attic；
where a bunch of antique wooden trunks were stacked。 ？This is where all my old horse stuff is
kept；？ Georgie explained。 She opened the top trunk and pulled out a handful of ribbons she？d won
at horse shows。 ？I was a really good rider。？ She offered the ribbons to Nate。
All of them were blue； with the name of the petition
stamped on them in gold。HAMPTONCLASSICJUNIORHUNTER
GRANDCHAMPION； Nate read。 ？Cool；？ he said handing back the ribbons。 He wished he？d
found that joint。
？Check this out。？ Georgie pulled a large white plastic canister out of the trunk and placed it in
Nate？s hands。
The canister rattled as Nate turned it over。 The name of an equine veterinary practice was printed
on one side。Connecticut Equine Health。 He looked up at Georgie questioningly。
？They？re horse tranquilizers。 I？ve taken them before。 Half a pill is enough to send you to another
planet； I swear。？
Nate noticed that there were tiny beads of sweat on her upper lip； which was strange； because the
attic was unheated and he was freezing his ass off。 He shrugged and handed the canister back；
uninterested。
Georgie unscrewed the top and shook the giant white pills into her sweaty palm。 ？e on。 This
time I？m taking a whole one。 Or maybe we should each take two and see what happens。？ Her dark
hair fell into her eyes and she shook it away impatiently as she counted out the pills。
Nate stared at her； feeling frightened all of a sudden。 He was pretty sure Georgie had taken some
kind of pill when she？d disappeared into her bathroom before； and she had already been baked
before that； so adding a horse tranquilizer to the mix sounded like the worst idea he？d ever heard。
What was he going to do with a totally fucked…up ODed girl in the attic of a huge mansion in
Greenwich； Connecticut； in the middle of the worst snowstorm in New England history？
？I think I？ll pass。？ He pointed to a little metal device in the trunk； thinking that maybe if he
diverted her attention； Georgie would forget all about the pills。 ？What？s that？？
？A hoof pick；？ she answered quickly； holding out the pills。 ？The groom uses it to clean out the
horses？ hooves。 e on； take one。？
Nate shook his head； his mind fumbling for a way to get both of them out of the realm of horse
pills and into safer territory。
？Georgie；？ he said looking into her dark brown eyes with his sparkling emerald green ones and
grabbing her wrist hard so that the horse pills scattered on the floor。 He swept her up in his arms
and kissed her dark red lips。 ？Let？s go back downstairs； okay？？
Georgie let her head fall heavily against his chest。 ？Okay；？ she demurred。 Her dark； silky hair
trailed almost to the floor as Nate carried her down the long hall from the attic stairs to her
bedroom。 He pulled back the plush white duvet and set her down on the bed； but she clung to him。
？Don？t leave me alone。？
Nate wasn？t planning to。 Who knew what she？d do if he did。
？I？ll be back in a sec；？ he said； extracting himself。 He walked across the room and into the
bathroom； leaving the door ajar so he could catch Georgie before she did anything dumb。 Lined up
on the counter next to the bathroom sink were three little bottles of prescription pills。 Nate
recognized the name Percoset because he？d taken the painkiller when he？d had his wisdom teeth
removed； but he didn？t recognize the names of the other two。 None of the three prescriptions were
made out to Georgina Spark。
He washed his hands and then went back into the bedroom。 Georgie lay flat on her stomach in
her white cotton underwear； snoring softly and looking much more innocent than she deserved to。
Nate sat down beside her and watched her for a while。 The bones in her vertebrae stuck out from
her back； moving up and down as she breathed。 He wondered if he should call someone； or if it
was normal for Georgie to just take a bunch of pills and then go to sleep。
In the Breakaway meeting that day Jackie had said that if they were ever struggling and needed a
hand to reach out to； they could call her。 Nate pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and searched
for Jackie？s number； which she？d insisted everyone program in during the meeting。 Nate had
thought there was no way he？d ever need it。 He stood up and went back into the bathroom as the
phone began to ring。
It rang for a long time before Jackie finally answered groggily。 ？Yes？？
Nate looked at his watch； realizing too late that it was two o？clock in the morning。 ？Hey；？ he said
slowly。 ？This is Nate Archibald from your group that met today？？ he explained； wishing he
sounded less stoned。 ？I？m； um； at that girl Georgie？s house？ I just found out she took a whole
bunch of pills and I think she？s fine？she？s sleeping？but I just wanted to ask you； you know；
should I do something？？
？Nate；？ Jackie said urgently； suddenly sounding like she？d just drunk ten cups of coffee； ？I want
you to read me the labels on the pills； and； if you can； tell me how many she took。？
Nate picked up the bottles and read out the names。 He didn？t mention the horse pills； but he was
pretty sure Georgie hadn？t ingested any of those。 ？I don？t know how many；？ he said helplessly。 ？I
wasn？t watching when she took them。？
？And you？re sure she？s asleep？ Her breathing is regular？ She？s not vomiting or choking？？
Nate rushed into the bedroom feeling more alarmed than ever； but Georgie was still sleeping
peacefully； her ribs expanding and contracting gently with each breath； her dark hair fanned out on
the pillow around her head； looking exactly like a sleeping Snow White。 ？Yeah；？ he said；
relieved。 ？She？s sleeping。？
？Okay。 I want you to stay there and watch her。 Just make sure she doesn？t start to vomit； and if
she does； sit her up； lean her over your shoulder and pat her on the back so she doesn？t choke on it。
I know it sounds unpleasant； but you want her to be well。 You want to facilitate her recovery。？
？Okay；？ Nate answered shakily。 He glanced at Georgie again； praying she wouldn？t do anything
weird。
？I？m going to send a van over from the clinic。 It？s going to be a while because the roads are
basically closed； but I don？t think you？re too far away？they？ll make it there eventually。 Are you
prepared to stay strong； Nate？ Remember； you？re our hero tonight； our Prince Charming； our
knight in shining armor。？
Nate walked over to the bedroom window and peered out。 There was so much snow； the circular
gravel driveway in front of the mansion was indistinguishable from the vast lawns beyond。 He
didn？t feel like Prince Charming？he felt helpless and trapped； like Rapunzel。 Hadn？t he been in
enough trouble already？ ？Okay；？ he told Jackie； trying to sound more confident than he felt。 ？I？ll
see you soon。？ He hung up his phone and stuffed it into his back pocket。
Of course our Prince Charming was pletely unaware that he might have just saved Snow
White？s life。 But it？s the reluctant heroes of fairy tales that we fall in love with over and over；
despite their flaws。
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ABC Amber LIT Converter v2。02
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Disclaimer： All the real names of places； people； and events have been altered or abbreviated to
protect the innocent。 Namely； me。
hey people！
Do we really need to look like Little Red Riding Hood？
Every Fashion Week I find myself asking； Why are all the models in the shows wearing space
suits； or dressed like Hansel and Gretel； or basically naked； when I wouldn？t be caught dead
looking like that on the street？ Then I have to remind myself that the shows are really a spectacle
and that the whole point of fashion is to entertain and spark the imagination and make the world a
better place。 Fashion is art； and art imitates life； there？s no reason to it。 The more I think about it；
the more I can？t wait to dress up like Little Red Riding Hood myself and prowl around looking for
wolves。 Time to shop for a red cape！
What happened to all that snow？！
How e whenever there？s a serious snowstorm in th