Secrets in the Attic (Secrets 1)

When I looked back, she was gone to return to

the attic, or else she had simply stepped deeper into

the shadows to watch me ride off.

Months ago, what she had just said would have

made me very, very happy. I wanted us to be as close

as two people could ever be, friends forever and ever,

but now I wasn't comfortable about her living her life

through me, even if it were to be for only a short

while.

I had enough trouble living for myself, I

thought. The added responsibility weighed heavily on

my mind and my heart. I pedaled through the glow of

the moonlight mechanically, as if my body were truly

no longer mine, as if I had indeed fallen under a spell

Karen had cast like a net over me. I was rushing downhill, unable to put on the brakes very effectively,

and completely unable from to change direction. The sight of Dana Martin's car in front of the

post office sent a chill up my spine. I slowed my

pedaling and hesitated. In a few moments, it would

really be too late to turn back, I thought. How could I

even think of turning back now, anyway, after all the

promises I had made? I got off my bike and walked

the remainder of the way. I could see him watching

me in his rearview mirror. I put my bike on the side of

the post office building and approached his car. He

leaned over in his front seat and opened the door. "Hop in," he said.

I looked back at the center of the hamlet

George's was closing. The lights were being flicked

off in the front windows. The rest of the village was

dark, except that the bar and grill was still open, and

Sparky was out in front as usual, looking up the street.