Pretty Little Things. Jilliane Hoffman

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СКАЧАТЬ get him. Her mom used to let Bradley just go home alone, but one of the new neighbors threatened to call the Department of Children and Families and report her, so now she had Mrs Ross watch him. In Lainey’s opinion, Bradley would have been better off on his own. Mrs Ross was nearing what looked to be a hundred and couldn’t see, hear, or remember very well. And her house always smelled like pee and boiled eggs. ‘Hello there, Elaine,’ she said. ‘Come on in, now.’

      ‘Do you want me to get him for you, ma’am?’ Lainey asked.

      ‘Who?’

      ‘Sinbad.’

      There was a pause. ‘The cat,’ Lainey added.

      Mrs Ross looked around. Then the light snapped on. ‘Oh, no, no. Just let him be. He’ll come on home, I suppose. That’s where the food is.’

      Bradley popped out from behind the door that led to the living room. His face was pale. ‘A severe storm warning’s been issued. They’re saying tornados are possible.’

      Uh-oh. Her brother could watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw IV back to back, but ever since Hurricane Wilma had taken out his bedroom window a couple of years ago, five minutes with the Weather Channel sent Bradley into a complete tailspin. The weather alert must’ve broken into his cartoons.

      ‘Maybe we should wait it out,’ he said, his eyes wide with fear. Mrs Ross gummed her lip and looked back and forth at the two of them. Obviously she wasn’t too worried about tornados. She wanted her TV back. Oprah beckoned.

      ‘Don’t freak. It’s not even raining yet,’ Lainey replied calmly.

      ‘I don’t know … They say tornadoes sound like a train.’

      ‘We have to go Brad. Come on.’ She looked over at Mrs Ross. ‘We can’t stay here.’

      Mrs Ross shrugged.

      ‘Don’t know …’ he muttered again.

      ‘Look, we’ll run home together before the rain starts. I’ll race you.’

      Bradley looked past her. Another rumble of thunder sounded and his lip began to tremble.

      Lainey sighed. The sight of her normally totally obnoxious brother melting into a pile of tears should make her smile, but it did just the opposite. She actually felt bad for the kid. He looked terrified. ‘You can hold my hand, Brad,’ she said quietly, crouching down on her knees to look him in the eye. ‘It’ll be OK. I promise. But we gotta go, like, now.’

      Just as they rounded the corner of 43rd Street on to 114th Terrace, hand in hand and at full speed, God turned on the faucet. And the thunder. A huge boom that sounded as if it was right above their heads set off three car alarms. By the time they made it inside the house three blocks later, they were both soaked right down to their underwear, which made a now completely freaked-out Bradley chuckle for a split second.

      She stood right outside the door and waited while he changed into dry clothes, then she led him back into the family room, closed the blinds and popped Resident Evil into his PlayStation. A video game meant no more weather alerts, and the screaming zombie victims took care of the thunder. She watched him from the kitchen until the rain band had passed over and it was clear Bradley was more concerned with a cannibal finding him in a closet than he was about a twister taking out the family abode. In twenty minutes the storm would be over, he’d be back to his old self and she wouldn’t feel bad any more. There wasn’t much time.

      While he jumped on the couch in his Spiderman jammies, killing zombies left and right, she quietly slipped out of the room and headed down the hall into her bedroom.

      Then she locked the door behind her and turned on the computer.

       4

      Before the screen had even warmed up, the computer blurped. An IM. While she changed out of her wet clothes, she clicked on the flashing orange tab.

ElCapitan says:

r u online?

      It was like he knew she was there. Like he sensed her presence. That was so cool!

LainBrain says:	hi! was just guna rite u
ElCapitan says:	sup?
LainBrain says:	tried to beat the rain & lost
LainBrain says:	I love storms, but its nasty out
ElCapitan says:	does that mean you’re soaking wet?
LainBrain says:	pretty much
ElCapitan says:	ooohhh. I like
LainBrain says:	drying my hair
ElCapitan says:	What happ on math?
LainBrain says:	don’t ask
ElCapitan says:	u wont be 1st to fail algebra
LainBrain says:	didnt fail. D
ElCapitan says:	(::[]::)
Lainey smiled.
LainBrain says:	thanks 4 the pity
ElCapitan says:	been there. HATED trig. Got a C.
LainBrain says:	moms gonna scalp me. prob grounded 4 life
ElCapitan says:	2 bad. I like ur hair СКАЧАТЬ В начало < 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 > В конец