Book 1 of an Is It Love? story of a young woman with a dark secret. When that tragic incident occurred she made a choice to run away from home for good. In doing so, it brought her to a small town called Mystery Spell where she met the Bartholys and...
The next day went smoother with getting Lorie ready for school, although I noticed a sad look on her face. "Lorie, what's the matter?" "Nothing!" she pouted. "Obviously, something is bothering you. You know you can tell me anything." "Just a stupid boy at school!" "What happened? Come, sit back down on the bed with me and let's talk about it," I insisted. After seeing that I wouldn't let the matter drop, she finally relented and came to sit next to me. With both arms crossed over her chest, she admitted, "He said I look like that stupid cartoon, Strawberry Shortcake! I hate him!" I gasped out loud in astonishment, scoffing at the ridiculous notion, even though I was kind of laughing on the inside. (You may have deserved to have a taste of your own medicine, child, but I can't help feeling sorry for you.) I tried consoling her by laying my hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away, saying, "I wanted to poke his eyes out!" "I'm sure he might have deserved that, but violence is not always the best course of action." Just then we both heard a soft knock on the door and Peter walked in, already dressed in his uniform.
Continuing my speech with the little girl, I said, "You know what, Lorie?" "What?" she asked as she looked up to me with gloomy eyes. I glanced up to Peter as I replied, "I don't think you look anything like Strawberry Shortcake. You are much prettier!.... And also much smarter." A slight smile appeared on her face. "What else?" she responded with a question. Peter grinned at me, so I continued with all the positive attributes I could think of that she possessed and that the cartoon character did not. That seemed to brighten her mood. She jumped off the bed to go give Peter a hug.
All of a sudden, I noticed Drogo was standing in the doorway behind Peter. Lorie then clung to him briefly before heading away from the bedroom to go downstairs. I stood up to exit the room as well with Lorie's shoes in my hand when both boys smiled at me for cheering their sister up. Drogo, surprisingly, thanked me out loud, "Not bad, little thing. Not bad... and thanks." It shocked me at first, but I then told him, "You're welcome. I-It couldn't have been easy for any of you to take care of her on your own. I mean, with your father always away."
He quickly retracted the grin and replaced it with a grimaced expression. (And there's that grumpy attitude again. What is it with this family?) Drogo walked past me in the hallway without a word, nor did he look at me, eyes looking straight ahead of him. Peter stepped up close, took my hand, and told me not to worry about it. "Sorry about my brother's behavior. He and our father don't get along very well. It's probably for the best that he's never home, to be honest." He didn't continue more from there, which caused me to have even more questions unanswered. Downstairs, I handed Lorie her shoes to put on.
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As we were about to head out the door, Peter spoke, "Oh, uh, Lydia?" "Yes?" "Thank you for what you did for Lorie back there. We were kind of expecting other kids to not get along with her much, but some kids are more mean than others." "Oh, of course. I understand completely. When I was young I was picked on by bullies a lot. Thankfully, I learned to just ignore them and they lost interest in continuing their pestering. It's easier said than done, I know, but that's really the only way to get it to stop. Mean kids love to get a rise out of you, whether to make you cry from sadness or get you angry." Peter gave me an understanding grin like he knew what I meant. (Do you know what it's like to be ridiculed, Peter? Whatever happened to you in the past?)
