Summer Lightning by Wendy Corsi Staub

Author:Wendy Corsi Staub
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2023-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

After she and Polly had loaded the mirror into the backseat and thanked Susan, Melissa drove straight to Polly’s house without asking her if she wanted to come over for a while, as she normally would have.

Polly jumped out almost before the car came to a stop. She walked quickly up the driveway, barely tossing a good-bye over her shoulder.

Melissa knew she’d hurt her friend’s feelings by snapping at her earlier, but she felt powerless to set things right. The words wouldn’t come, and she didn’t even know if she wanted them to. Making up would mean having to talk to Polly, and Melissa didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

Grimly, she steered the car toward home.

When she was about to turn into the driveway, she noticed that Polly had left her tape behind. For a moment she debated going back to Polly’s house to drop it off, but she quickly dismissed the thought and stuck the cassette into her purse to bring to school on Monday. Maybe by then whatever had flared up between them would have blown over.

The house was completely dark when Melissa went in, and there was a note on the kitchen table that said both her parents had taken Tracy shopping up in Freeport, and they wouldn’t be back until after nine o’clock.

At least something’s going right today, Melissa thought, crumpling up the note and shooting it into the kitchen wastebasket. The quiet, empty house was all hers for a while, and she wouldn’t have to deal with her parents’ concerned looks and Tracy’s prying.

Out of habit she headed into the living room and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels a few times, but nothing looked interesting. Finally she turned it off and wandered aimlessly through the house.

Her mother’s note had instructed her to microwave the leftover shrimp from last night for her supper. Melissa opened the refrigerator door and stared blankly at its contents as Lady Eleanor came purring around her ankles.

“What’s the matter, kitty? Want to eat?” She took out the paper carton containing the shrimp and dumped it into the bowl on the mat in front of the back door. “Here, kitty. Have I got a treat for you.”

The cat began to devour the seafood, making excited smacking noises.

There, Melissa thought, watching. Eat it all up, Lady Eleanor.

Now her mother wouldn’t know she hadn’t eaten the shrimp herself. Melissa left Lady Eleanor to her treat and wandered to her room, feeling preoccupied and restless.

She sat quietly on her bed, staring out the window at the house next door and humming softly until it was time to get ready for the party she didn’t want to go to.

Tripp would be over to pick her up in half an hour.

She slipped out of her jeans and sweatshirt and tossed them onto the bed. They promptly slid off and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Melissa left them there.

“What a lousy day,” she muttered.

As darkness fell, a strong wind began to rattle the glass panes.

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