gunning the engine and hitting him with the car, but she
didn?t want to mess up Kate?s paint job. Angry tears started pouring
down her face as soon as she was out of the parking lot, and
they didn?t stop until she was at home, splashing cold water on her
face in the kitchen sink.
She felt humiliated in a dozen different ways. Some of that humiliation
she had brought on herself by attacking Lucas at school, but
he seemed determined to belittle her. She wasn?t even allowed to
go grocery shopping now. How was she going to explain that to her
father?
The thought of Jerry derailed any nascent plan of escape. She
was hopelessly outnumbered, and unless she was willing to leave
her father behind to fend for himself she had to wait until the
Delos boys were done deciding how to handle her. She leaned
against the kitchen sink and stared at the block of knives on the
counter. If she had Lucas cornered the way he did her, she would
have already picked out which knife to use. What she didn?t know
was why. Why did they hate each other so much? What purpose
could all that anger possibly serve?
She suddenly thought about Hector, about the way he had smiled
at her, and a carpet of goose bumps unrolled down her arms. If she
was ever alone with him she knew he would kill her. Not just bully
her like Lucas did, but actually, joyfully, kill her.
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She was still leaning up against the sink half an hour later when
her dad finally made it home. He froze midstep and looked around
the kitchen, giving the entire room a fast once-over.
?Did I do something wrong again?? he asked, his eyes wide.
?Why do you keep asking me that?? Helen huffed.
?Because the past few days every time I come home you look at