Nowhere to Run by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Eight

It was Saturday morning a week later, and Emily was in Karrie's nursery, playing with her. "You see," she murmured, running her hand tenderly through the soft blond locks on Karrie's head, "this isn't so bad, is it? I'm doing OK so far, right, Karrie?"

Karrie stared up at her, stuffing her fist in her mouth. Smiling widely, she made one of the little noises that her mother insisted was "talking." Emily sighed. What a beautiful little baby, she thought.

It almost hurt Emily to look at Karrie sometimes. She was so incredibly delicate—so vulnerable. She was a sweet, contented baby, Emily thought, still stroking the child's hair. She didn't know how much unhappiness there was in the world.

I used to be just like this, Emily thought. I was a little baby, too. And maybe my mother picked me up the way Karen picks up little Karrie. Maybe she worried when I couldn't sleep. Maybe . . .

Tears stung Emily's eyes. "I want to protect you!" she said, picking Karrie up and holding her tightly. "I wish I could keep you from ever finding out what a mess things really are around here!"

Karrie made a soft cooing noise, her wide blue eyes fixed on Emily's face.

"Emily," Karen said, coming into the nursery, "the phone just rang. Didn't you hear it?"

Emily shook her head, putting little Karrie in her crib. "Sorry," she said, trying to keep her voice even. "Is it for me?"

"Yes," Karen said, not looking one bit pleased. "It's that boy again—the one who was over here the other day."

Emily took a deep breath as she brushed past her stepmother. It was impossible to please her, Emily thought.

Emily picked up the extension in her bedroom. "Hi, Dan," she said. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing," Dan said cheerfully. "We really missed you at practice last week, Em. We're all hoping that you'll change your—"

"Dan, I don't want to talk about The Droids," Emily said shortly. "If that's why you called—"

"Well," Dan said quickly, "as a matter of fact, that isn't why I called, Emily. I saw your ad in The Oracle. Are you serious about selling your drums?"

Emily took a deep breath. "Yes," she said. "And don't try to talk me out of it, either! I know what I'm doing, Dan."

"Are you sure?" Dan asked doubtfully. "Two hundred dollars doesn't seem like very much."

"Well, they're used," Emily pointed out. "Besides, it isn't really the money that matters to me. I just want them out of the house."

Dan was quiet for a minute. "I see," he said at last. "Well, if you're really sure . . ."

"I am," Emily told him.

"Well, in that case, I have a friend who I think might be really interested in them. His name is Jamie, and he's a sophomore at Palisades. He told me he's been looking a long time for a really good deal. So when I saw your ad . . . "

Emily cleared her throat. "You mean—" You mean, you're not going to try to talk me out of it? she was thinking.

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