V.C. Andrews - Orphans 04 by Raven

Author:Raven
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-01-17T01:24:00+00:00

7

The Party's Over

It was raining harder when we arrived home.

Brad wouldn't help me with Jennifer. He just sat there waiting impatiently while I struggled to get her out of the car. She didn't even seem to realize we were getting soaked, because she wouldn't or couldn't move quickly. I practically carried her from Brad's car to the house. He shot off as soon as we were out of the automobile. By the time we reached the door, both of us were soaked. I had hoped to sneak Jennifer in and up to her room, but the moment I opened the front door, Uncle Reuben sprang from his recliner in the living room and appeared in the hallway. His eyes bulged when he saw Jennifer. She was pale, her clothes wet and disheveled, her hair messed with strands sticking to her forehead, and her eyes half closed. She leaned on me for support, and I guided her into the house.

"What the hell happened to her? What's wrong?" he demanded. "Is she sick?"

She lifted her eyes and looked at him

pathetically for a moment and then suddenly burst out laughing and crying at the same time.

He turned to me.

"What's going on here?"

"She drank some vodka at the party," I said. I had made up my mind I wouldn't lie to protect her.

"What? Drank some . . . Clara!" he screamed.

Aunt Clara came rushing out of the bedroom and appeared at the top of the stairway. She wore only her nightgown. "What is it, Reuben?"

"Look at your daughter," he declared, extending his arms toward Jennifer.

She looked even more ridiculous wearing an idiotic smile and clinging to my arm. Her eyes rolled, and she pressed her hands to her stomach. "Uh-oh. I don't feel so good," she moaned.

Uncle Reuben turned to me again. "I thought you said the party was chaperoned."

"I didn't say anything. That was Jennifer," I said.

He curled his thick, dark eyebrows toward each other and narrowed his eyes into slits of suspicion.

"Who gave her the vodka?"

"I'm sick, Daddy. Let me go upstairs," she pleaded.

"Oh, dear, dear," Aunt Clara cried, coming down the stairs quickly. She took Jennifer's other arm.

We started toward the stairway, but Uncle Reuben reached out with his large hands and grasped my shoulders, pulling me away and toward him. He nearly lifted me off the floor as he brought his nose closer to my face and sniffed.

"You drank something, too," he accused.

"Just half a glass of beer," I said.

"I knew it. I just knew this sort of thing would happen when you came into my home

"It wasn't my fault," I cried, and pushed his hand away from my shoulder. "Jennifer wanted to go to this party more than I did. And she knew exactly what was going to be happening there," I told him If he only knew what else had happened—even his precious princess wouldn't be safe from his wrath.

He didn't hear a word. Jennifer stumbled on a step, and Aunt Clara struggled to keep her from falling.

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.