“Emma!” Mom screeched. “What’s wrongwithyou?”
“Me?” I asked, indignantly. “Iwarnedher.”
“So you think it’s fine to resort to violence when you don’t getyourway?”
“In this particular situation,” I said, crossing my arms angrily and standing my shaky ground, “Yes,Ido.”
“Well, that’s not the way it’s done in this house,” Mom said, through gritted teeth. “Give me that CD player and go toyourroom.”
“UUUHHGGG! IT’S AN MP3 PLAYER!” I screamed, slamming the electronic device into her open palm before stomping off in a display of blistering outrage. On my way down the narrow hallway, I crossed paths with my older brother Keith. It was obvious he was about to make some snarky comment, but he thought better of it as he caught sight of my expression. Keith wisely flattened himself against the wall as I passed.Goodchoice.
Finally at the threshold of my sanctuary, I gripped the side of my door and slammed it with enough force to ensure every person in the house could fully appreciate my fury. Even the mirror hanging on the back of my door was not spared; it swung out and violently crashed intothewall.
So intense were my emotions that tears formed in my eyes. A nagging guilt tugged at me, but I stubbornly pushed it aside. It was exhausting being this angry all the time. Why couldn’t everyone just back off and leave me alone? It was like they wanted to rile me up. Dramatically, I flung myself on my bed and spent the next hour or so of my spiteful existence spinning a web of deceit for Kara to fall into, complete with a written outline of how I wanted things to go down. She might get Drake, but that was all she’d get. By the next morning, if everything went as planned, Kara wouldn’t have a friend tospeakof.
* * *
The smellof dinner that had been wafting through the confines of our cramped five-bedroom home was now gone. I wondered if Mom had not called me to eat because of what I’d done to Grace. I probably shouldn’t have pulled her hair, but a girl can only take so much. I hated having so many damn kids running around the house. Nobody bothered to ask me if I wanted any moresiblings.
My stomach rumbled as I reluctantly opened my door and made my way down the hall. Knowing I was probably going to get screamed at, I readied my response. I was planning to go the sympathy route. Usually if I threw the wholeYou never have time for me anymorein my parents’ faces, their guilt kept my punishment light. But when I walked into the kitchen, our dinner was just sitting on the table getting cold. Mom was pacing back and forth, her face pinched in irritation and her fingers tapped nervously on thecounter.
“Why aren’t we eating?” Iasked.
“Because the boys aren’t home yet. Dad’s been out looking for them for the past hour. They weren’t at theskatepark.”
“Oh.” I blew the tension out of my lungs. There was nothing that got me off the hook faster than one of the boys doing something stupid. Luckily I could always count on Kyle to be anidiot.
“So should the rest of us just eat, then?” I asked, indifferent to my Mom’s obviousdistress.
“No. We’ll wait for Dad to get home with the boys,” she said, in a clipped tone. “And don’t think we aren’t going to discuss yourbehavior,Emma.”
“You need to control her better.” I spat the words from mymouth.
“And you need to start acting like a human being instead of aspoiledsnot.”
The sound of tires rolling over cement caught our attention. Mom’s back tightened as she openedthedoor.
“Did you find them?” she called to him, her voice catching in herthroat.
“No.”
Mom’s eyes widened, as her skin slowly faded to an ashen white. “Where couldtheybe?”
Dad lumbered into the kitchen, each step more distressed than the next. “I’m telling you, Michelle, I have no idea. I’ve gone everywhere. I stopped by Drew’s, and Jason’s and Peter’s. None of them have seen the boys, and all three were at the skate park when Jake and Kyle were supposed to be there. Something’s not right. I’m actually gettingworried.”
“It’s not like them,” she said, more to herself than to my father. “They know better than to be outpastdark.”
I glanced between my worried parents, completely unconcerned about my brothers. They were making a big deal out of nothing. Those boys were always into something. I was hungry. When exactly was Mom planning on servingdinner?
“I’m going to call around and see if any of their other friends haveseenthem.”
His brows furrowing, Dad absently nodded. His thoughts were far away as he pulled the baseball cap off his head and drew in deep, calming breaths. Perhaps sensing me staring, Dad caught my eye and his pained gaze startled me. My father was the happy-go-lucky type, not the overly dramatic worrier, but the look on his face was clear: he was scared. And that, in turn, caused me to shift in my chair and experience the first prickly sensation that something bad might actually havehappened.
I checked the clock. It was almost eight. I’d been so wrapped up in preparing Kara’s funeral that I hadn’t realized so much time had passed. With Kyle being twelve years old and Jake thirteen, they had a strict sundowncurfew.
Keith trotted in with Grace riding on his back, an imaginary whip forcing him to move faster. “You haven’t found them yet?” His playfulness ceased once he caught sight of Dad’sfrowningface.
“Can you think of anywhere else they mighthavegone?”
