No Accident by Emily Blake

years old, I dreamed of running the family business with her at my side.” Grandmother Diamond’s voice was filled with admiration and longing. Alison was stunned. “I miss her…every day.” A fresh round of tears flowed down Tamara’s face, soaking her handkerchief.
    Pulling a soft blanket from the chest by thesofa, Alison draped it over her grandmother’s shoulders, overwhelmed by her sudden frailness. Grandmother Diamond thanked her and went on.
    â€œShe thinks I’m horrible, I know. Do you know how awful it is to be estranged from your own daughter—to have her think so poorly of you?”
    Not exactly , Alison thought. But she had a pretty good idea what it felt like from the other side.
    As she spoke, Grandmother Diamond’s tears dried up. But inside Alison they had a lasting impact. Her grandmother was opening up, showing emotion, apologizing. It was like she had been swapped out for her unevil twin.
    Drawing a deep breath, Grandmother Diamond patted Alison’s hand. “You remind me of her, you know. In so many ways. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always had a special fondness for you, too.”
    Alison gulped. She grasped for the warm feeling a granddaughter should have at a moment like this. She was the favorite. She should be happy. Triumphant, even. But all she felt wasawkward and embarrassed that even after her recent visit she was cringing inwardly at being compared to her mother. And disloyal to Tamara for having pledged to her mother that she’d help her.
    Unable to find any suitable words, Alison mumbled something about homework. Three minutes later she was alone in her room. As she closed the mahogany door and heard the heavy brass lock click, she felt like screaming —she needed to do something to release the crazy feelings that were all stirred up inside her. She needed to talk to somebody about everything . But Zoey was still at her tutoring session. And there was no one else.
    Or was there? Dialing her own phone number, Alison waited for her father to pick up. On the fourth ring her heart dropped and she waited for voice mail. He wasn’t there. He was never there.
    â€œHello?” Her father’s voice was clear and sounded amazingly sober. Alison felt instantly reassured.
    â€œDaddy?”
    â€œAl, it’s you! I’m so glad you called. SorryI…well, I’m never sure how to reach you without Tamara being around.”
    â€œIt’s okay.” Alison pardoned him, dismissing the fact that Grandmother Diamond never answered her own phone—the help did it for her—and anyway, he could have called her cell. None of that mattered. She was just so glad to hear him sounding so solid and upbeat.
    â€œLook, Al, we should get together,” he suggested, reading her mind. “Talk about stuff. There are some things going on that you should know about.”
    That was putting it mildly. “Like what?”
    Jack Rose’s voice dropped. “I can’t tell you anything over the phone, sweetie. But I’m worried about you. How about if I pick you up after school tomorrow?”
    â€œSounds great, Dad,” she said, really looking forward to it. Maybe together the two of them could stand strong against Alison’s mother and grandmother—or at least duck together under the radar. Maybe they could be a family again.
    Alison felt good for a full hour and a half after she hung up with her dad. The good feelinglasted while she ate a quick dinner (her grandmother had decided to have a tray brought to her room), washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into the sweats she liked to wear to bed.
    But once she was in bed with the lights out, the good feelings left and the rest of the day’s events began to replay on the darkened screen of her closed eyes—sparring with each other for control of her emotions. She saw her mother’s face, tense and fragile. Her grandmother’s