light was off. I hoped I wouldn’t get in trouble again for going in
there. I found her humming to herself. She was so good.
I
felt guilty for staying to watch. I would never get those images out of my head
again. I wanted to tell her what Sara had said, or that maybe we should take it
easy on her, something…. Maybe I
should say that I felt like Sara learned her lesson, that she would be really
sorry now. I don’t know.
But,
I didn’t say anything. We just sat by each other on her bed like we had the
first morning we had awoken, backs to the wall, knees to our chests, chin on
our knees.
I
don’t know how long we sat there, not very long. Uncle Jeremy and Chris came in
with Caity and bundles of pink and white bedding. They proceeded to make mine, Caity’s , and Erin’s beds all up. They were beautiful with
tiny flowers and little ribbons. They were all thick and fluffy, layered and
luxurious-everything a little girl could dream of.
Afterward
we got our teeth brushed and got tucked in with our new blankets. It was kind
of nice. Uncle Chris told us that that Daddy said we could have the bedding for
being good. Erin for not getting in trouble and getting a spanking she didn’t
deserve, me for telling the truth and sticking up for Erin, even though it was
hard. Lastly, Caity’s was for not being involved in
Sara’s plan.
But
the truth of it is Daddy brought Sara in and put her in her bed without new
bedding. And I think it was more of a punishment to her. I felt so bad for her
too. She just laid there sniffling for so long. Then Erin did the sweetest
thing. I would have missed it if I didn’t hear the faintest whispering.
I
looked up in the near dark—there is one small night light in the room. Erin
was by Sara’s bed, she stayed there for a long time. I think she was comforting
Sara and she gave her the stuffed elephant she had brought with her from home.
Sara
was snuggled up with it the next morning.
Chapter 5
I
didn’t sleep well that night. I think that Daddy left the heat up high for
Sara- because I woke many times and was way too warm. I tossed and turned all
night and finally awoke on top of the covers rather cranky. I loved the fancy
bedding and I should have been in better spirits that morning. Things seemed to
be looking up.
I
was the first one awake and had to go pee. When I was done I did not stay up
but went back to my bed. I was determined not to make the same mistake I had
made the other mornings. I stayed in bed until the other girls were up and I
was called for. It was tense during breakfast I felt if people were staring at
me. I knew they were waiting for me to start screaming or having a seizure. It
was hard to control myself the smell of coffee was fresh and strong. Daddy didn’t
saying anything about me pouting, either. I guess he was just happy I wasn’t
raving like a lunatic.
I
didn’t feel good. I think I said that already. I tried to eat, to pretend I was
eating… I just hoped that Uncle Jeremy would toss my food again. I knew I would
be sick if I had to eat it. I just wanted to lay my head on the table. It
seemed like it was taking forever for everyone else to get done when I felt Daddy
reach for me and pull me over to come sit on his lap.
He
ran his fingers through my hair and rested his cheek against me forehead. “Are
you feeling ok sweety pie?”
“I
don’t want to eat.” I whispered hoping he wouldn’t put me in the corner since
he was being nice.
“Does
your tummy hurt?”
Why
hadn’t I thought of that before? It did kind of hurt… not hurt, it was just
that I wasn’t hungry and if I ate it would hurt. But, he was asking if my tummy
hurt- that must mean if our tummy hurt we wouldn’t have to eat.
“Yeah…”
I rested my head on his shoulder sucking up the attention.
“It’s
ok, baby, why don’t you just go lay down on the sofa in the front room.” He
stood me up and nudged me toward the couch. I should have been happy I had gotten
out of
Sophie Jordan
Ipam
Jen Frederick
Ben Bova
Kevin Kneupper
Alice J. Woods
Terry Deary
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Thomas Hollyday
Delia James