The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Author:Laurie Faria Stolarz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
NOW
32
Back in my room, I change into my momâs old sweater and burrow beneath the covers. I need to sleep, but thoughts spin like hamsters on a wheel, inside my head, keeping me up. What are the odds that someone who knew about my case placed the gnome on the back deckâonly temporarilyâas a joke or to make me feel crazy?
Or what if the guy who took me left it? Could it have been a warning that heâs somewhere nearby, waiting to take me again, just as Peyton fears with her captor too? Do either of those scenarios even make sense when the person wouldâve had no way to predict Iâd ever see it?
And what if the gnome was never really there? If Iâd only imagined it? My heart races at the mere possibility; somehow, itâs the most terrifying option of all.
I rub my cheek with the cuff of the sweater, thinking how Mom used to tell me how strong she thought I was. But I donât feel strong. I feel more like the way she sometimes got, when sheâd curl up into her shell like a hermit crabâlike the time I came home from school and found her on the living room sofa staring out into space. The TV wasnât on. There was no book in her hand. I stood in the doorway waiting for her to acknowledge my presence, but it was only when I scooted down and touched her bony fingers that she finally noticed I was there.
âTerra?â Her eyes met mine. âYouâre home early. Was it a half day?â She was still in her pajamas from the morning. The coffee Dad had made herâand poured into the smiling heart mugâstill lingered on the table beside an untouched breakfast cookie. She obviously hadnât gone to work.
âHaving one of those days?â I asked her.
Mom faked a smile, but her eyes filled up, which was my cue. I turned away to allow her to cry in peace.
With my back to her, I asked, âAre you coming to my belt ceremony?â For tae kwon do.
âWould it upset you if I had to miss?â
âNo,â I lied.
âIâm so proud of you.â Her voice crumbled like cake. âYouâre so strong, so resilient. Youâll always be just fineâno matter what happens.â
If only she could see me now.
I stare at the window, half wishing the rainbow bird would visit me again. Somehow the bird, with its unicorn stripes and sparerib gift, seemed so much clearer than this.
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