The Ghost of Tricia Martin by Pascal Francine

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

Eight

Cara woke up with a dull headache from crying herself to sleep. At first she couldn't remember why she felt so miserable.

And then it all came flooding back. With a groan, she rolled over and buried her pounding head underneath the pillow.

For a few minutes, Cara gave in to hopelessness. Losing Steven would hurt more than anything in the world. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes.

But gradually she came to her senses. Maybe it's not too late, she thought. Maybe there was still time to salvage the relationship. There might not be that much damage done yet.

Cara sat up, rubbed her eyes, and tried to concentrate. The most important thing was to stay calm, she decided. If she gave in to panic or despair she knew she would never win.

In the cool morning light, Cara took a long hard look at the facts. All she knew was that Steven had found someone who reminded him of Tricia Martin. She deduced that he had seen the girl several times already. That explained why he had been so distant and preoccupied.

But he has to know he'll never have another Tricia, Cara thought.

She clenched her jaw as she ran over all the things she needed to say to Steven. She would tell him in all honesty that she could understand and sympathize with him. She knew as well as anybody did how much he had loved Tricia Martin. Cara had to convince him she was on his side, that she appreciated how surprised and glad he must have been to see "Tricia" again.

But you can't live in the past, Cara said to him in her imagination. If she stayed calm, reasonable, and kind, wouldn't he realize that she was the one who loved him now?

It couldn't be too late!

For the next twenty minutes, Cara paced back and forth across her tiny bedroom, rehearsing all the wise and loving things she would say to Steven. He would agree with her that their relationship was important and worth saving. He would.

Finally, Cara squared her shoulders and picked up the telephone. She paused as she made a silent wish for everything to be fine, and then dialed.

"Hello?" Steven's voice was hopeful and bright.

Cara drew a deep breath. "Hi, it's Cara," she said casually, as though she weren't scared to death.

There was a pause. He's disappointed. He was hoping it would be her, Cara realized, her heart pounding rapidly.

"I have to talk to you," Cara said. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "It's important."

"Go ahead," Steven replied. He sounded far away. "What's up?"

Cara tried to make her voice behave. She squeezed her eyes shut and said, "I was at the mall yesterday. I went to the Unique Boutique."

There was a weighty silence on the other end of the line.

"I know how you must feel," Cara rushed on. "I mean, I can see why you would want to go out with her, Steve, but I just think you shouldn't dwell in the past, you know what I mean?"

Cara could hear how strained and desperate she sounded.

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