April Shadows by V.C. Andrews

Author:V.C. Andrews
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Horror
Published: 2011-06-12T18:15:46+00:00

8 Invisible Tears

.

I didn't tell the whole truth. I couldn't talk about what Luke had almost done to me, especially in front of Celia, and even more especially because of the things they had said about Brenda. On the way home. I limited my explanation to getting into David's car, drinking some vodka, and their pulling a prank on me by leaving me on some back road. Of course. I had no idea what I would do if David developed the picture he had taken and then showed it to people. I talked mostly about Mr. Petersen in the hopes that neither Brenda nor Celia would ask too many questions about David, Luke, and Jenna.

Brenda and Celia sat up front listening. Both of them kept their faces forward, neither commenting nor asking a question. At times. I felt as if I were speaking to mannequins. It's so much more difficult to travel through troubled territory, tell half- truths, and leave out unpleasant information when you have to do all the talking. I thought, It's like swimming out in the middle of the ocean without anyone offering any sort of rescue. You just flounder about. hoping. When I finished with some sniffles. which I hoped would bring me some expressions of sympathy. Brenda looked at Celia and then looked into the rearview mirror at me in the backseat.

"I really thought you were a lot smarter than that. April. Ifs not that I didn't warn you about those kids, and why would you drink anything they offered you in a paper bag? How do you know what was really in it? You never drank any vodka before, did you?"

"No, but they drank it, too!" I whined. Celia laughed.

"They did!"

"It was in a paper bag, you said, right?" Brenda

asked. "Yes."

"So they could have brought it to their lips but

not actually swallowed any or very much, and you

wouldn't know. It's a trick college boys pull on girls

all the time. The girls end up drunk or worse, and then

the boys take advantage."

Celia turned slowly and looked back at me.

"Did they do that?" Brenda asked.

"What?"

"Take advantage of you?" she asked.

I could see Brenda's eyes in the rearview

mirror. She was waiting for my answer and watching

my face.

"No," I said, and turned away quickly. I

couldn't tell her I just couldn't do it, especially in front

of Celia.

Neither of them said another word for a while, "We'll think of a better story to tell Mama,"

Brenda told me before we arrived at the house. "Okay.

Here's what you'll say. You'll tell her you went for a

ride with some of your friends, and the car broke

down. Don't tell her about the drinking. She doesn't

know much about the kids at school, so she won't

know how bad the ones you were with are. It's not

hard to see she's still as fragile as thin china. More bad

news could shatter her."

"I know how Mama is," I snapped back. "I'm

the one living with her now."

"Then you should know enough not to get into

this sort of trouble," Brenda returned.

"Take it easy," Celia told her softly.

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