“You don’t believe me.” Dad’s words cut through the wooden door and Lara cringed on reflex.
“We do not need to have this conversation right now. We’re not accomplishing anything.” Ima’s neutral tone had disappeared.
“Just like I’m not accomplishing anything, right? I’m the useless one. Again.”
It was undeniable. Dad had started to yell. At the harsh sound Lara’s fingers immediately embarked on a frantic dance outside of her control. She could hear Caroline whimper next to her. As the older sister, she probably ought to lead Caroline back to the safety of their bedroom. But she absolutely could not stand the thought of being cooped up in there, knowing that just two doors down Dad and Ima were . . .
No. It was better to stay here. At least then she’d know for sure what was going on. Even if that knowledge hardly brought comfort.
Ima’s clipped words snapped Lara’s attention away from her sister. “There is no need to read so much into everything. I did not say any of those terrible things.”
“You don’t need to say it,” Dad said. “I can feel it in the way you look at me. How you always ask me about how looking for a job is going, as though you’re expecting me to fail.”
Barely contained tears punctuated his voice, jolting Lara to her very core. She didn’t recall seeing her father really cry. Ever. Even at Grandpa’s funeral, he’d only gotten a bit watery around the eyes.
Then Ima spoke again, and her anger was so thick, Lara could practically feel it. “But I didn’t say it. This is just you blaming me for your insecurities. Again.”
Lara gulped.
Muffled words came through the door, but Lara could no longer devote her full attention to deciphering them. Instead she observed, with no small amount of horror, the unwelcome sight of Benny bouncing down the hallway. He went straight for the observation spot Lara and Caroline had so carefully staked out.
Lara silently willed her brother to be quiet and just pass them by. But she might as well have wished for a snowstorm in Seattle in the middle of August. It just was not going to happen.
“Hey guys!” Benny said. Goodness, did he really have to talk quite so loudly all the time? “Whatchya doing?”
“Nothing.” Lara didn’t dare speak too loudly. Still, Benny needed to understand that he absolutely could not just come over here and talk at a typical Benny volume right now. “Go away.”
Lara thought her words sounded properly stern, but it might not be enough. Benny had an odd kind of immunity to sternness, especially when it came from her.
“It doesn’t look like you’re doing nothing!” If anything, Benny’s voice had gotten several notches louder. “It looks like you’re spying. On Dad and Ima! Wow! Are you guys spying?”
“Of course not,” Lara replied, but even she knew there was little to no conviction in her voice. “We’re just . . .”
She trailed off as she tried and failed to come up with a remotely decent excuse.
“Just spying! Spying!” Benny repeated.
Lara didn’t bother denying it.
With a few crashing footsteps, Benny jammed himself in between the two sisters. Lara couldn’t quite believe that Dad and Ima hadn’t already come out to check on the commotion and give all of them a talking-to.
She leaned back against the door, not bothering to keep quiet. There wasn’t any point to it.
Usually, Benny had a unique talent for only paying attention to the things he wanted to bother with while blissfully ignoring everything else. He was sort of like Dad in that way. Still, Lara knew the very instant he finally started tuning in to what was going on inside the bedroom. She would have known it even if he hadn’t blurted out a word that he most definitely was not supposed to say. Ever.
“Shut up,” Lara told him.
Ima had somehow managed to ignore Lara and Caroline investigating—okay, spying—by the door and Benny trampling into the situation. Yet she would not—perhaps could not—ignore the sound of Benny exclaiming a Very Bad Word.
The door swung open, revealing Ima’s fierce scowl. Her dark hair had fallen out of its usual neat bun, and red circles rimmed her eyes.
Lara stared. Ima wasn’t supposed to cry. It was one of the basic rules of the universe. Then again, Dad and Ima also weren’t supposed to yell at each other.
“Benjamin, please do not use that word in my presence again. Or out of my presence, for that matter.” Then she turned to Lara. “And you, Lara Ezter! Perhaps you might explain what exactly you’re doing outside of my bedroom?”
Georgia Ketteridge always had an excuse ready when she got caught eavesdropping on important conversations. But Lara Finkel’s brain went completely blank as her mother’s eyes bored into her.
“I was . . . we were . . . I mean . . .” she attempted.
“They were spying on you!” Benny said. When Lara glared at him, he shrugged. “What? I was just telling the truth.”
Lara almost snorted. If everyone told the truth, there’d be no need for spying in the first place. Clearly, things had changed around here. And not for the better.
Ima only sighed. “I suppose you heard our discussion, then.”
“Yes,” Lara said. “We did.”
Although she was bursting with questions, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.
“Well. I am very sorry you had to hear that,” Ima said. “You shouldn’t have. Now. Everyone, please return to your bedrooms for some quiet time before dinner.”
Lara did not dare to contradict her mother.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: UNSWEET DREAMS
LOCATION: House, 7:00 p.m. (approximately)
EVENT: Dad and Ima had a really bad fight.
QUESTION FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION: Why do people who love each other hurt each other so much?
For Lara, going to sleep wasn’t an easy task at the best of times. And this most certainly wasn’t the best of times.
She rolled over and glanced at the glowing red lights of
