forgot about my uncle's doll."
"Naked on a bed? That's just so sick. You're
uncle must have been so perverted beside being a
drunk,"
"He was not! You're so arrogant. You don't
know what you're talking about."
"Maybe I don't. but I wonder if you do either. I
can only imagine what it was like for you to be living
under those circumstances and traveling about with
someone like that."
"Nothing ugly happened!" I cried, and then I
really did begin to cry. "He taught me magic tricks
and I helped him with his act. He was my only close
relative. He loved me and he was alone. too. I had
nowhere else to go!"
As inscrutable as Tyler tried to be with me, his
face couldn't help but soften with some compassion. "Look. I admit I don't know your whole story.
All I know is what I've been told by Mrs. Westington
and what Echo described to me earlier. I'm sorry if
Fin jumping to too many conclusions, but you're
guilty of the same sort of impulsive judgments," he
said, nodding at the rock.
I flicked the tears off my cheeks. Then I took a
deep breath. This was a big mess. I wasn't here a week
and already there was great turmoil. Does it just
follow me wherever I go? Will it always?
"Well, what do we do now?" I asked him. "Declare a truce," he said. "You want me to
row us back?"
"No, I can do it," I said, grabbing the oars
before he could. He shrugged and then leaned back. "I don't mind being spoiled." "Very funny." He looked at me with somewhat more trusting