- 3.
<
It wasn’t far from home.
I walked back, got ready for bed, turned off
the lights, and got into bed.
The darkness made my hearing sharper.
I could hear my parents yelling Ashley’s name.
I could see the flashlights.
It went on until late into the night.
I stared at the ceiling.
After a long time, my parents came home.
They sat in the living room.
My mom was crying.
“Where could she have gone? Do you think
she was kidnapped?”
My dad yelled at her some more and started
smoking.
My mom kept talking.
“Why couldn’t it have been Emily?”
“Emily must have brought bad luck to Ashley.
How else would she have been taken?”
Then, she started yelling about me.
r
I heard everything.
She got louder and louder.
A few seconds later, she burst into my room.
My heart skipped a beat.
My mom was out of control.
She didn’t give me a chance to react.
She yanked me out of bed and threw me
against the wall.
I was barely ten years old.
I wasn’t expecting it.
I hit the wall, and pain shot through my back.
My mom laughed.
She kicked me in the stomach.
“You’re a curse. You should be the one who
died!”
“How can you sleep at a time like this?!”
Memories of the last time flashed through my
mind.
My anger peaked.
I started shaking.
L
I started shaking.
But then I thought about Ashley.
My eyes turned red as I stared at my mom.
She seemed to realize she was being watched
and then she left the room.
I stared at her back.
A twisted smile formed on my lips.
