touch her. Give me some credit.?
They continued talking, but Helen had stopped listening. She felt
sick. Stumbling in her borrowed shoes, she went over to her dad.
200/395
She stood right next to him as he talked to Pandora, and stared at
his profile until he took the hint and looked at her.
?What?s the matter with you?? he asked sarcastically at first, until
he took a good look at her and became concerned. ?You okay,
Len??
?Can we go? I have so much stuff to do. Homework and chores.
And I?m so tired,? she said, making up random excuses until he responded.
She was causing a bit of a scene, which she hated, but she
simply couldn?t stand there and suck it up for one second longer.
Jerry glanced down at his watch. ?Sure, yeah. I guess it?s getting
kind of late. Was that supposed to be my line?? he asked with a
guilty grimace.
?No, you?re good. It?s still early. I?m just . . . I?ve got stuff,? Helen
said before she launched immediately into the thank you, goodbye,
and see-you-tomorrow crap that she wished she could just
skip.
Ariadne shot Helen a worried look, but Helen didn?t care about
anything anymore, not anyone?s feelings or whether or not they all
thought she was rude or crazy or both. None of it mattered. She
just needed to get out of that house before she saw Lucas again or
she was going to lose her mind. It was rude and awkward, but
Helen managed to drag her dad out the front door before Lucas
and Pallas had even looked up from their conversation in the
corner.
201/395
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF?NOT FOR SALE