LITMIR.BIZ

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knapsack.

      “Who are you calling?” Andrea asked as she changed lanes before stopping at a red light.

      “Kyle. I want to tell him I’m okay, that I’ll see him at school tomorrow.”

      She was still waiting for her daughter to explain what happened, and all Shannon could think about was her friend? “Kyle?”

      “Yes, Kyle.” Shannon hit Call and put the phone to her ear.

      Indignation rose like a balloon to fill the space around Andrea’s heart, zapping her already-frayed nerves. “Shannon, put that phone away. Now!”

      “Mom! I’m calling Kyle.”

      “No. You’re not. Besides, you can’t go to school tomorrow. You need to rest.”

      Shannon rolled her eyes and clicked the end button. “Mom, stop being so melodramatic. I fell. End of story.” She gave a disgusted sigh. “Why are you making such a big deal about it?”

      “A big deal?” Andrea glanced at her daughter. “I get a call to come to the emergency room because my daughter has been injured, and it’s no big deal?”

      Shannon smoothed her hair around her cheeks, hiding her face.

      “What is going on with you?” Andrea asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. “And if you’re so anxious to talk to Kyle, why won’t you talk to me?”

      Shannon turned her head so quickly her hair swung out around her face. “Mom! Stop it! See? This is why I called Dad. You’re so unreasonable,” Shannon said, indignation adding emphasis to her words.

      For a few moments, Andrea couldn’t speak. Hurt led the surge, followed quickly by disbelief that her daughter would confide in Scott and not her. “You called your father without talking to me first.” She forced the words past her taut lips.

      “Because I knew you wouldn’t call him, and I wanted Dad to know.”

      “Shannon, I would have called your father after I could assure him you were okay.”

      “Why can’t I call my dad?” she demanded. “I’m going to call him when I get home.”

      “Do you expect him to come? To leave behind his precious life with his new family and come to look after you?” The second the words were out, Andrea wished she could take them back. “Shannon, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say—”

      “For your information, I didn’t expect Dad to come here. Not with you hovering around me!” she yelled.

      “Shannon, I didn’t mean to upset you, but you should have called me and told me where you were and what was going on.”

      “The nurse told me she’d called you and you were on your way. As for Dad, I just needed to talk to him. Can’t you understand that?”

      Wanting to wipe the anxious expression off her daughter’s face, she softened her tone. “Of course I can. Look, let’s forget all this and go home. You’re safe and that’s what matters.”

      “Mom, there’s something else I need to tell you, and I don’t want you to be mad at me for doing it.”

      “What’s that?” Andrea asked, her nails digging into the steering wheel.

      “Kyle and I are talking about going away on March break. I might go to Dad’s—”

      “No!” Andrea said without thinking.

      “Mom. I have a right to see my father.”

      “I know. I’m sorry.” She struggled to remain calm. “Shannon, we can talk about this later.”

      Shannon slumped in her seat, pressing her palms to her forehead. “I’ve made you angry, haven’t I?”

      “Not angry so much as concerned.” Had Shannon and Kyle started dating? “Is Kyle going with you to your father’s house?”

      “Of course not. He has family in Phoenix, and he thought it would be fun to visit them,” Shannon said.

      Did Shannon’s sudden interest in visiting her father have something to do with Kyle? “If you and Kyle are involved, it’s okay. I really like him.”

      Shannon gave a long sigh and closed her eyes. “No, Mom. Kyle and I are friends. He’s my math tutor, or don’t you remember? I wish you’d stop trying to find a boyfriend for me. Really. If I wanted a boyfriend, I’d have one. Now, can you stop interrogating me?”

      “I didn’t mean to make it sound like an interrogation. But this hasn’t been easy for either of us.”

      Shannon didn’t respond.

      The only sound was the hum of the car as Andrea drove carefully down their street and into the driveway. Normally, Shannon would have hit the garage door opener on the visor and made some teasing comment about her mother nearly clipping the cedar hedge along the driveway. Not tonight.

      As Andrea pulled into the garage, she was certain of one thing. She no longer believed that Shannon’s injuries were the result of a simple fall on the sidewalk. She didn’t believe that Kyle was an innocent bystander. She didn’t believe anything her daughter had told her. It was suddenly very clear that there was something going on in Shannon’s life. Something her daughter was hiding.

      Shutting off the engine, she turned to Shannon. “Sweetie, you have to understand that I’m concerned about what is going on with you. The injuries the nurse described couldn’t have been from a simple fall on the sidewalk. You’re too good of an athlete to fall like that. Besides, you have no injuries or scrapes on your hands to prove you put your hands out.”

      “I’m telling you the truth. Why don’t you believe me?”

      “Shannon, you’re telling me that you hit the sidewalk hard enough to hurt your ribs, your forehead, to scrape your leg and hurt your shoulder. I don’t buy it, not for a minute. I need to know what happened.”

      Shannon glared at her, tears flooding her eyes. “Why don’t you trust me? I fell. That’s all.”

      There was no way she could let this continue. Knowing what had happened to Shannon left her with no choice but to show her daughter how serious this lack of truthfulness was and that it wouldn’t be tolerated.

      Andrea held the wheel with a viselike grip as she stared straight ahead. “Shannon. You leave me no choice but to ground you until you’re willing to be totally honest with me.”

      Shannon’s indignant gasp filled the vehicle.

       CHAPTER THREE

      SHANNON LIMPED AHEAD of Andrea into the house, dropping her backpack on the kitchen table before heading to her room. Needing answers, Andrea followed her. “Shannon, you have to understand. I can’t ignore what you’ve done. I can’t.”

      Shannon stopped and stood perfectly still. “Mom, I wish you would trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”

      What was she saying? Why the secrecy? “Would you please explain that statement?” she asked, refusing to accept Shannon’s determination to shut her out.

      Shannon turned. “Kyle and I were just walking along, fooling around, when I fell.”

      “Who else was there?”

      Shannon’s gaze dropped to her hands. “No one. Like I said, we were teasing each other. I stumbled.”

      There was that evasiveness again, that guarded tone. “Why didn’t Kyle grab you? He’s bigger and stronger. Why didn’t he break your fall?”

      Shannon continued to study her hands.

      A horrible thought occurred to Andrea. No! “Did Kyle hit you?”

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