Page 153 (1/2)

Kate looked at her daughter For once, she wasnt scowling or turning away "Iht so much "

"Yeah "

"Maybe we could sign you up for that newclass, after all The one in Seattle "

Marah juo off-island? The next session starts Tuesday I checked Tully said shed pick me up fro about it "

"Oh, you have, have you?"

"Daddy said it would be okay if I kept rades up "

"He knows, too? And no one talks to me? Who am I, Hannibal Lecter?"

"You get mad pretty easily these days "

"And whose fault is that?"

"Can I go?"

Kate had no choice, really "Okay But if your grades—"

Marah launched herself out of her seat and into Kates ar in the moment She couldnt re

Long after Marah had run into the house, Kate was still sitting in the car, staring after her daughter, wondering if the ood idea That was the sly, ruinous thing about uilt andin was so damned easy

It wasnt that she didnt want Marah to take the classes, precisely It was that she didnt want Marah on that difficult road so young Rejections, corruption, beauty that went no deeper than the skin, drugs, and anorexia All that lay beneath the surface of the ile in the teen years God knew a girl could fall off the track even without the burden of constant beauty-based rejection

In short, Kate wasnt afraid her gorgeous daughter wouldntRather, she was afraid she would, and then her childhood would be lost