As she wondered why they had arrived separately, she recalled Sabrina’s odd remark about being Richard’s ticket back into the family. Lisa wondered why he had been exiled in the first place. He must have done something truly horrible. Her best guess was that he had conspired with Peterson, although if that were true, she couldn’t figure out why he seemed so nervous about Peterson getting out of prison.
She was distracted from her musings by the three remaining guests. The shortest one, who looked slightly older than Veronica, was a boy with blond hair and a timid face. Veronica had already identified him as a potential friend and was chattering in his ear in an effort to put him at ease, but he looked miserable. Lisa thought he fit Sabrina’s description of her youngest son Stephen.
Following him was a girl who kept her distance from the rest of the family just enough to convey a subtle air of rebellion. She was taller than Lisa, and she carried herself with a natural arrogance. She didn’t look at anyone as she went up the steps, pushing in front of Lisa’s mother without bothering to acknowledge her.
“That was Shannon,” said Sabrina to Lisa’s mother. “She’s furious with me right now because there was something she wanted to do a few days ago, but I made her stay home to look after the baby instead. I don’t know what I was thinking. She’s completely clueless when it comes to babies. A girl should know about that sort of thing by instinct, but she just doesn’t get it.”
Lisa decided that although her own mother was far from perfect, she was preferable to Sabrina in every way imaginable. She thought about how awful it would be to have Sabrina controlling every aspect of her life, and she turned her attention to the final member of the group, expecting to see a gloomy countenance belonging to a person who wanted to be somewhere else.
She couldn’t have been more surprised. She looked into a pair of warm gray eyes, and her heart stopped beating for a moment. On many occasions, she had amused herself by envisioning the perfect boy, and now he was standing in front of her. He was everything she had ever hoped for, from his dark hair to his cheerful smile. She told herself she was dreaming. It wasn’t possible for him to actually exist. They hadn’t exchanged any words, but she felt like she knew everything about him. She wanted nothing more than to fling herself into his arms.
Shocked by the impulse, she averted her gaze before he could notice her confusion. What had he done to her? Never before had she experienced such a spontaneous desire for another person, and even though it terrified her, she didn’t want it to stop. She analyzed her impression of his face and tried to identify the intangible qualities that attracted her, but there were no words to describe the way he made her feel. She only knew one thing for certain: the positive energy emanating from him made her glad to be alive.
“This is Josh,” said Sabrina. She pushed him inside before he could say anything and leaned over to speak privately to Lisa’s mother. “I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I can’t help it. There’s something special about him.”
Sabrina’s voice dragged Lisa back to reality, but she couldn’t banish the notion that something incredible had happened. She told herself she was being ridiculous. The smile on Josh’s face wasn’t for her. He hadn’t even noticed her, and he probably never would. He was just an ordinary boy—and even if he wasn’t, her father was probably going to kill his mother, so there was no point in fantasizing about him.
They went inside, and Lisa finished making dinner while her father entertained the guests and her mother tried to figure out where they were all going to stay. When everyone was ready to eat, Lisa’s mother still hadn’t come downstairs. Lisa went to look for her and found her in her grandmother’s room, curled up on the bed with her face buried in the pillow. She was crying. Lisa didn’t want to intrude on her grief, so she didn’t disturb her.
She went into the dining room with a single thought in her mind: everything was her father’s fault. His unforgivable actions had taken the entire family hostage. The blame rested squarely on his shoulders, although Sabrina shared some of the responsibility. Lisa decided nothing would improve until Sabrina and her family left. As she sat down at the table, she caught a glimpse of Sabrina’s face and was shocked by what she saw. It was triumphant. Her heart sank. Sabrina was exactly where she wanted to be, and she wasn’t going to leave any time soon.
Chapter 3
Lisa spent a miserable night in Veronica’s room. She hated the arrangement with all her heart, but it was the only way to accommodate everyone. She normally wouldn’t have minded giving her room to Shannon, but Shannon was so blatantly unfriendly that Lisa felt nothing but resentment toward her. Veronica’s bed was uncomfortable, and Lisa barely got any sleep.
When she went downstairs the next morning, she found her parents sitting in the dining room eating breakfast with Richard, who was reading the newspaper. Sabrina and Arthur were also there, but the baby was nowhere to be seen. Veronica and Stephen were chattering together about the possibility of building a treehouse in the gigantic oak that grew in the back yard. There was no chance Lisa’s parents would allow them to do such a thing, but they looked happy all the same.
The older children were absent. Lisa felt relieved and disappointed at the same time: relieved because she didn’t want to see Shannon and disappointed because she did want to see Josh, even though she was determined not to be infatuated with him
