Colors of Truth by Paula Paul

Author:Paula Paul
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2021-06-25T16:07:56+00:00

Chapter 16

Caroline

I wanted to talk to Dotty that night after we went to bed. I wanted to press her to tell me more about Thaddeus taking the blame for beating up Hutch, but I knew how sensitive she was about that. I started out by mentioning Bobby Nations.

“You seem to like each other.” I said.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Mother and Daddy think you’re too young to date, you know.”

“We see each other at school.” Dotty said. “He walks me to class, sits with me during assembly, and we hang out at lunch. Obviously, you haven’t noticed.”

“Well. . .” I didn’t want to admit that she was right.

“You’re too caught up with the little dramas of your own life to notice anybody else.”

It wasn’t like Dotty to lash out at me with such fury. Our bickering never seemed this fraught with anger. She turned her back to me and didn’t speak.

“I guess you’re right.” I said after a while. “Maybe I’m too self-centered.” She moved her shoulders slightly but said nothing. “I know you’re still upset about what happened with Pearlie at the lake.” At last I was getting around to what I really wanted to talk about.

“You didn’t do anything to help her.” Dotty said.

I didn’t know how to answer. I thought Dotty should have been grateful that I was protecting her, my little sister. I didn’t mention it, though. I didn’t want to start an argument with her.

She was quiet for a while before she said, “It’s worse than you think.” she said.

“What do you mean?” I thought I knew what she meant in spite of my questioning her. Pearlie and been raped, probably by Hutch. Now she was pregnant, and someone—Thaddeus or Johnny or both—had tried to kill Hutch.

Dotty didn’t answer. After a few minutes I heard her regular deep breathing, as if she was asleep. I thought she was faking, so I waited until she was ready to talk. It was a long time later, after I’d fallen asleep that her sniffling woke me up.

“Dotty?”

Again she didn’t answer. I lay awake for what seemed like hours listening to her intermittent, quiet crying.

Eventually both of us must have fallen back asleep because Dotty seemed as bleary-eyed and numb as I did when Mother came into out room to awaken us for church. Neither of us wanted to get out of bed. We hadn’t told Mother and Daddy what happened at the lake. They’d find out about it soon enough. Even without telephones, word had a way of spreading quickly.

“You two must have had a big time at the lake.” Mother said as she served us oatmeal. She was already dressed in her blue nylon dress with the lace collar and her black high heels. Daddy had eaten his breakfast and was sitting in his chair in the living room reading the Friday Lubbock Avalanche- Journal that came in the mail Saturday. He seldom went to church with us.

“How much water is in the lake?” he called from behind his paper.

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