The Dollhouse

Chapter 36

LIFE deals you a cruel hand sometimes, and in the small town of Haverbook, we seemed to lose everything at once. It was the small moments I enjoyed - running down the hallways at school, passing scraps of paper behind the teacher's back, and on weekend mornings when I ducked out while Father Edgar shaved to avoid his interrogation.

You never appreciate the sweet parts. When life gives you lemons, they taste twice as sour.

We never had really appreciated Samuel. He didn't even ask where the bug-eyed girl with the oversized clothes came from. There was an abandoned barn at the back of their wheat field, stacked with hay. Before we even came, he tried to make the place feel more homely with blankets and a few books.

"They've let me live in a care home for a few years now," Sherri said, looking around. "They trust me. I'm even allowed to go around Eastville be myself now, after so many assessments. But only Eastville. Which means I'll never be allowed out again if they find out I've been coming here."

"This is the real country," Danny muttered, hands curled in his pockets. I could tell he didn't like the idea of crickets and cold nights.

"I'll sneak down and bring you food and hot tea whenever I can," Sam said carefully, watching what she thought of his efforts. "When I'm working I can probably come down and keep you company for a while. Are you sure you're going to be okay down here?"

"Don't sweat it."

Nearby, a bird quailed. I swallowed down whatever emotion was threatening to spill over.

"I can help you." I licked my lips with hesitation. "Even if it's just arranging for you to meet your brother."

"Thank you." Sherri knelt down to feel the softness of the quilt, her eyes flickering back up at me.

That made me feel good, when she said that. I didn't even know her, but for some reason I felt like she wasn't lying about anything. Her accusations were serious, and after everything we'd been through, I couldn't disregard them.

When we were saying our farewells, it took me by surprise when Sherri and Danny went for a hug. It wasn't a obligatory embrace - she clung to his neck, not in a romantic way, but like it actually pained her to say goodbye.

"He's been a godsend, finding me," Sherri said, catching me staring. "The first friend I've had in a long time."

It was a secret, one of the first biggest secrets I had to call my own.

At school, Danny and I avoided each other even more than usual. Mrs. Appleby was starting to ask me if I had ever considered college - you're a clever girl, Lydia, so don't be foolish enough to waste it - and I just pasted on a pleasant smile, saying some line about how I had a feeling things were going to change soon.

Spite was the main reason I didn't tell Rudy or Violet.

They'd had their own stash of secrets between the two of them for over a year.

Sure, it was cruel vice to keep my stepbrother from finding out about someone who he thought out to be dead. But who could predict his reaction - Violet would wreck it somehow, and I wanted the victory to be mine.

I wanted to take down Arabella myself.

Only the previous night, they had fallen asleep on the sofa together. Rudy was closest to the fireplace, propped up by one elbow, lolling head in his hand. Violet had sunk into the cushions, curled in a very Whiskers-like fashion.

Every piece of the scene would have been innocent enough. However, his hand rested over hers lazily, and not in the way you would make contact with just anyone.