House at the End of the Street by Lily Blake

Author:Lily Blake
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780316230636
Publisher: Poppy
Published: 2012-08-20T23:00:00+00:00

By the time Elissa got home from school the next day, it was nearly four o’clock. As Jillian dropped her off in the driveway she noticed Ryan. He sat on a boulder at the edge of the state park, staring off into the trees. Elissa let out a deep breath, waiting until Jillian’s forest green car disappeared down the road. She hadn’t spoken to her mother all morning, and she planned on keeping silent as long as humanly possible. Last night had been mortifying. Her mom had been so rude to Ryan, sitting there, chugging her red wine like it was water. If anyone came away from the dinner looking like a maniac, it was Sarah.

She strode across the grass, crossing the threshold to his property, knowing how much Sarah would hate that she was doing this. When she was a few feet away, Ryan turned, offering her a small smile. “I really, really wanted to apologize for my mom last night,” Elissa said.

Ryan looked down at his hands. “It’s okay,” he said softly as he picked at his fingernails.

“It’s not okay.” Elissa climbed the rock, using the natural footholds to hoist herself up beside him. “I hope you didn’t take her too seriously. It was just a classic case of parentnoia.”

Ryan looked at the space between them and shook his head. “We’re not supposed to be alone,” he said. “Remember?”

Elissa shrugged it off. Who was her mom to tell Ryan Jacobsen what to do? They were neighbors, nothing more—he didn’t owe her anything. Just then she heard the phone inside her house, the ring sounding across the lawn. The cell in her pocket buzzed. She wanted to ignore it, but knew her mom would be even more suspicious if she didn’t pick up. Sarah’s voice was on the other end of the line. “Hey,” she said softly. “They hit me with another late shift tonight. I won’t be home until eleven. You gonna be okay?”

Elissa glanced sideways at Ryan, feeling the slightest pang of guilt. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“And you remember our agreement?” she pressed.

“Yes, how could I forget last night?” Elissa shot back. “I’ll talk to you later.” She hung up, a sick feeling in her stomach. Lying had never been the easiest thing for her, but she wasn’t about the give in to Sarah’s demands. Just because Sarah had messed up in high school didn’t mean Elissa was going to.

When she put the phone back in her pocket Ryan was looking at her. “Again, I mention how we’re not supposed to be alone.”

“Trust me—if Sarah wanted to make rules for me, she should’ve started enforcing them five years ago. It’s too late now.” She pointed over her shoulder at her house. “I set the home phone to forward calls to my cell.”

Ryan laughed. “That’s kind of devious.”

“I’m trying to protect her.”

“Right…” Ryan laughed. “Well, technically we’re not actually in either house.”

Elissa inched closer to him, staring into the park, trying to see what he saw. “What were you looking at before, when I came up?”

Ryan lowered his head.

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