This Changes Everything by Denise Grover Swank

Author:Denise Grover Swank [Swank, Denise Grover]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: BluA
Published: 2014-08-11T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

The rain beat against the windows as Ellie hunched over her spelling words in the kitchen after dinner. A cold wind blew in from the north, and her chest had felt heavy all day. It had been two days since she’d told Claire about the curse, and so far nothing terrible had happened. Still, Momma and Daddy had been acting strangely, whispering when Ellie was around and raising their voices in heated discussions when they thought she wasn’t. She couldn’t figure out what they were talking about except for bits and pieces.

Even now she could hear as her parents’ voices floated in from her father’s office, and her curiosity got the better of her. She slid off her chair and snuck into the hallway, hiding in the shadows, her back pressed against the wall.

“I know you signed a nondisclosure agreement, Amanda, but I’m begging you to tell me what you saw.” There was a pause, and finally he said, “At least tell me what you hope to find at the library at Chapel Hill.”

Her mother was silent for several seconds. “Fine, but I can’t tell you everything.” When her father didn’t answer, her mother continued. “I think it might be the missing artifacts from the Middleton collection.”

“The collection lost during the Civil War?”

“Yes.” She paused. “But I’m going to Chapel Hill to investigate a particular artifact. It was given to me in good faith. I have a week to discover its significance. I didn’t tell Steven I had it, only that I needed access to his papers.”

“They gave you an artifact?” His voice rose, making Ellie jump. “What is it?”

She didn’t answer.

“Amanda, I’m your husband for god’s sake! Who am I going to tell?”

Her voice quivered. “I can’t tell anyone, John. Anyone.” She took a breath. “Especially you.”

“Why especially me?”

She didn’t answer again.

“Is it related to the curse?”

Her mother’s temper exploded. “Goddamn that curse! You’ve devoted your entire life to a bunch of hocus-pocus and nonsense. You have Ellie terrified to death that something terrible will happen if she accidently tells someone.”

“Did she tell someone?” He sounded panicked.

Ellie’s heart lurched in her chest. Oh, no. She had done something bad.

“Will you listen to yourself?” her mother shouted. “Your daughter is living in fear because you’ve filled her head with frightening stories of demons and weapons she can use to destroy them, then you tell her not to tell anyone and your biggest concern is that she actually did. She’s eight years old, John. Eight. I want you to stop telling her these stories. It was fun at first, but now you’re asking too much of her.”

They were quiet for so long that Ellie peeked around the corner, hoping the darkness hid her face. Her father stood behind his desk and her mother rested against the front edge. She was turned at the waist, looking toward the bookshelves.

Her father rubbed his forehead. “What is the artifact, Amanda?” His voice sounded tired.

She didn’t look at him, her face expressionless. “A gold ring.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.