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“Are you sure you aren’t being punk’d? I just can’t see yourhere, to live on the other side of the country”
Ouch Leaving me I could count on Madison to say it like it was “Do you really think there’s a shohere hters cry?”
“No” She sounded disappointed as if she was hoping to uess not But your mom is usually so nice She lets us sleepover all the time She seems kind of sad sometimes, but not mean”
Mouilty about it
“Maybe it will be cool to live with Caroline,” Madison said, taking a shot at lifting my spirits
Madison admired my stepsister Caroline Everyone did Even I liked Caroline I just didn’t like myself when I was around her “I’m sure she’ll be just thrilled to have me dumped into her space all of a sudden”
“It’s your space too Your dad lives there”
True, but he lived there because he’d moved away from me and my mom That little tidbit didn’t increase my comfort level “How about you and me just trade lives for four months?”
Madison laughed “My life isn’t so great either Even with soccer, my mo”
She really couldn’t Our school let everybody in the choir Madison just stood there , people around her thought a sheep was getting strangled “Can your ?”
“She thinks she can,” Madison said “At Mass it’s all I can do not to run screa for the door”
“You’re probably getting double credit for going then I think I’ve got enough credits to stop going to Mass until I’m thirty, so God will probably spot you another ten years for your suffering It’s like you’ve got a bank full of prepaid penance” I looked at Mojo and he panted in agreement
“Do you think so?”
“I do And besides, you only have two choir concerts a year”
“I just hate being reminded of how pathetic I am at every practice”
That was kind of why I didn’t like being around my stepsister “You’re not pathetic,” I assured her “Now your mother…”
Madison giggled “I’ to make you sit with us next time”
“Can’t,” I said, searching for an excuse “I have to sit in the back I’ve got…” What was that coot an overactive bladder”
“Right,” she said obviously not buying it “We can sit in the back too We aren’t picky”
Actually, Madison’s e cathedral every Sunday I personally thought she liked to be seen in her expensive clothes Unlike Madison, herbucks on her wardrobe My -tieon Lots of the kids at school were doctor’s kids, and Madison was the only one as really cool
“I’h, Madison Give me a break”
She sighed “You’re probably right”
I added another entry in my journal of Brutal Teen Truths Do not teach your ood can come of it This joined tidbits of painfully acquired inforood, and It’s very difficult for teens to hire a hit man
I’d started out with “One Million Reasons Divorce Sucks,” but after two years, it had fallen by the wayside Just to be thorough, I added a few more to that list I was up to seven hundred and ten Then, I spent a few hours on the Internet, trying to distract myself When it hit me that Mom’s new boyfriend probably had a site, I ran a search
Donald Waller, Independent Insurance Agent He had a site all right I clicked the link and music blared from my speakers when the site loaded It sounded like an action movie soundtrack, but as the intro started, I realized it must be some kind of superherointo a blue one Ba balloon, like in a coure in a cape swooped in His costue”
The intro ended and a picture cae Only this time, he had a cut-out real picture of his face photo-shopped over the cartoon Donald Waller was a big-tieek
The rest of the site looked pretty noruess
I could probably live through Mo me for four months a lot easier than I could do without her forever This guy looked scary Internet dating wasn’t safe, was it? And Seattle was forever away A six-hour plane ride A four-day drive Two days by train Okay, so I’d looked into it
I shut down my laptop and went in to ital clock next to the bed read 12:30
“Mo around the oversized furniture in the room
She juht sleeper “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“No, but I need to talk to you” She didn’t look so hot without her makeup
She blinked “Okay”
“I just went to Donald’s website,” I said
“Yes” She sat up and tugged at the comforter
“And, um, he doesn’t seem entirely normal”
Mom nodded wearily “You know, Ally We all have our little quirks He’s a huge coh”
“What if he’s not? What if he’s a serial killer and he chops you into bits?”
Mohtly Stacy Barnett was by the office the other day She’s the private investigator the
firm uses”
I nodded
The brown ses under her eyes added years to her appearance “I had her do a background check Everything looks fine”
I crossed my arms “All that means is that he hasn’t murdered anybody yet”
“Right And that’s all he knows about ht now, but it will be okay We may not really hit it off, but he won’t hurt me”
Not like my dad did when he cheated on her She didn’t say it, but I knew she was thinking it “I’ to bed now”
“Good night, Sweetie I love you” She held out her arht, and for a ain
“I love you too,” I said and ambled back to my room Compared to a brutal murder, a short-term abandonment seemed do-able
Chapter Two
Your parents control your life absolutely and co you can do about it
––Ally’s Brutal Teen Truths
Mo for teeks, but she insisted I spend the first ith et settled in, you’ll see it’s not as bad as you think”
Yeah Right She probably just wanted to put the house up for sale while I wasn’t paying attention Okay, she wouldn’t do that after telling rity
Panic grippedmy overstuffed suitcase behind me
Diane’s heavily lipsticked lips curved into a s to have “lots of fun together”
I kept my eyes averted from her chest She liked to wear low-cut tops for soross
“It’s a shaave a fake little wave to Mom out by the curb, “that Caroline isn’t back yet She should be home by this afternoon”