A Sea of Stars. Kate Maryon
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу A Sea of Stars - Kate Maryon страница 9
Название: A Sea of Stars
Автор: Kate Maryon
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Книги для детей: прочее
isbn: 9780007464654
isbn:
“They have gingerbread people living upstairs,” says Mum, smiling and guiding Cat through the door, “and some of Father Christmas’s elves are up there too, making all the cakes and goodies.”
I know this is a lie, but, because Cat’s ten and not twelve, her eyes start twinkling.
“Really?” she says.
Mum smiles and then Cat gets that she’s being teased and slams her face shut like a book. She starts twisting her hair so fast and so tight that the end of her finger turns poppy red with blood.
“I didn’t believe you anyway,” she snaps, pulling away from Mum. “I’m not a baby, am I?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Cat, darling,” Mum says. “I wasn’t thinking. Maya believed that story for years. Every time we used to come here, she’d sit wide-eyed, hoping to spot a gingerbread man or an elf. It was just a bit of fun. But I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”
Cat’s eyes burn black. She scrunches her face up in a frown. She looks from me to Mum and back again.
“Your family have a weird idea of what’s fun,” she scowls. “And stop saying ‘sorry’, both of you; it’s boring, boring, boring. Nobody ever means it when they say ‘sorry’, anyway; they still go on doing horrid things.”
Then she glares at Mum with fire in her eyes and snatches hold of Dad’s hand.
The teashop is full to the brim with customers and crying babies. Ladies dressed up as Victorian maids in black pinafores, white aprons and mop caps bustle about with trays of steaming tea, happy smiles dancing on their lips. But we’re not so happy. I feel lumpier and bumpier than before – worse than in the pizza place. I feel all quiet, all muffled, as if my mouth is full of cotton wool. And a guilty feeling gnaws away at my bones as I glance at Cat’s frayed cuffs. I wish I could take her shopping for some new clothes. I wish I could buy her some cool stuff. But the cliff walk and the sound of Cat, Cat, Cat’s scream has turned our family into a delicate egg that might break into a million tiny little pieces, making me too scared to say anything.
Cat drums her fingers on the table. She tap-tap-taps her feet on the floor.
Dad sighs; he rubs his eyes and draws a smile across his face.
“How’re you feeling now, Cat?” he soothes, putting more special word cream on Cat’s sore life.
Cat twiddles with the sugar cubes. She pops one in her mouth and sucks. She keeps her eyes down low. “OK,” she says.
“Because we’d understand if you didn’t feel OK,” says Mum. “What’s happening in your life right now is huge and we want you to know that we’re here for you, Cat. You’re likely to feel really wobbly over the next few weeks, we all will, because of so much change. But what we do in our family when we feel wobbly or worried about anything is talk. Share the problem and help each other through.”
“We hope, in time,” Dad says, “you’ll feel safe enough to trust us with your worries, Cat.”
She looks up. She tap-tap-taps her feet on the floor.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.