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"Then what happened?" I asked

"She stood over me, and she had this - this smile on her face And then I felt these invisible hands wrap aroundat my skin They pulled me down under the water and held me there, and I couldn't break free of theled But the worst part was that I could - I could see her through the water Standing beside the tub watching"

Eva turned her face, trying to hide the fact she was brushing away the tears rolling down her cheeks She drew in a ragged breath

"Eventually, Salina got tired of her game and let me out of the tub I was too scared to even cry by that point All I could think about was telling Ohen he got ho She got right down in front of me, looked ame She said that if I told anyone, anyone at all, that she'd have to play the saame with Phillip - and Owen too I knehat she meant That she'd hurt them the same way she had me "

"So you kept quiet "

Eva nodded "The next night when Owen and Phillip went out again, she took et into the tub, and did the saain And the next night, and the next night "

"Oh, Eva, how long did this go on?"

"A couple of weeks," she whispered "It could have gone on forever"

"If Kincaid hadn't gotten suspicious " I finished her thought

She nodded again "I don't kno he figured it out, but he did Maybe because I was quiet and withdrawn, and I didn't want to play with anyone anymore, especially not Owen I was terrified that if he paid more attention to me than he did to Salina, she would hurt me that much more Or that she'd hurt Philly and Owen like she'd said she would "

"So what changed that last night? What happened?"

Eva drew in a couple of breaths and let theain, her voice was even softer than before "I was in the tub underwater, watching Salina smile at me, and then suddenly Philly was there He shoved her out of the way, reached down, and pulled ain She ca to shove hi her You know the rest What she told Ohat he did to Philly because of her lies "

I believed her I believed Salina had tortured Eva with her water ed to save her I couldn't deny that I wanted to believe it, that part of me just wanted Salina to be an evil bitch so she wouldn't be a threat to me and Owen But as selfish asof truth to them I couldn't deny Even more than that, her story added up hat Salina had told Owen simply didn't

"I thoughtto kill Philly, but he stopped himself," Eva said "I tried to tell Owen the truth, but Salina was there While Owen threw Philly out of the house, she grabbed me and told me that I'd better keep my mouth shut She said that if I ever - ever - told Ohat she'd done that she'd hurt him just like she'd hurt me I believed her, so I've kept quiet like a coward and a fool all these years "

Her fingers clenched and unclenched, like she wanted to rip the ar in Like she wanted to screa to pieces - tear Salina to pieces