Free The Twisted Window by Lois Duncan Page B

identical serious expressions, looking more like Tweedledum and Tweedledee than ever. The main difference Tracy could see between the two of them was that her aunt's round face was pale and worried, while her uncle's was glowering and flushed with indignation.
     
    "So, you've finally decided to come home!" Uncle Cory exploded. "Where in God's name have you been all this time?"
     
    "I was out with a friend," Tracy told him. "We got busy talking, and I didn't realize how late it was getting to be."
     
    "The fact that it's black as pitch outside might have given you a clue," her uncle said. "I can only suppose that this 'friend' was the same young man who kept you out so late last night. How could you lose track of time two nights in a row? How much do the two of you have to talk about, anyway?"
     
    "I don't understand you people," Tracy countered defensively. "Aunt Rene made a big deal last night about how you want me to get involved in things like joining clubs and baby-sitting and going out on dates. Then tonight all I do is spend a couple of hours riding around in Brad's car, and the way you're reacting, you'd think the world's come to an end. Do you want me to have friends or don't you?"
     
    "Of course we do, dear," Aunt Rene began in her usual placating voice. "What your uncle means is—"
     
    "You don't have to explain the obvious, Rene," said Uncle Gory. "Tracy knows perfectly well that her social life is not the issue here. The point is, she never came home from school this afternoon, she never showed up for dinner, and she didn't even bother to call and check in. What we're talking about is nothing more than common courtesy. She could at least have phoned to let us know where she was."
     
    "I'm sorry," said Tracy. "May I go to my room now, please? I have homework to do."
     
    "You said you were sorry last night," her uncle continued, obviously having no intention of permitting the subject to be put to rest. "It's not as though we didn't go through this identical scene less than twenty-four hours ago. You knew perfectly well we'd be worried about you, yet you couldn't be bothered to make a simple telephone call to relieve our minds."
     
    Tracy felt her own anger rising.
     
    "Why should you worry?" she shot back at him. "You're not my parents, you're my landlords! My father's paying you to let me live in your home. There's nothing that says I have to eat every meal here."
     
    She turned her back on them and started for the stairs.
     
    "Come back here, young lady!" Uncle Gory bellowed after her. Then, when Tracy did not slow her pace, he continued angrily, "If hanging around with your new boyfriend generates this kind of rude behavior, then you'd better not plan on seeing him this weekend!"
     
    Tracy continued on across the entrance hall without responding, ascended the stairs, and walked briskly down the length of the upstairs hall to her bedroom. She entered, flicked on the light, and very purposefully closed and locked the door.
     
    Once inside the room, she was tempted to rush back out again. A flood of pink seemed to come rolling toward her from all directions, and for one dreadful moment she experienced the terrifying sensation that she was about to be suffocated by a cloud of rose petals.
     
    Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the door and forced herself to fill her lungs with long drags of air. Slowly her anger at her aunt and uncle began to subside, and she felt drained and emotionally exhausted and a little guilty. On one level, she regretted the unpleasant scene downstairs, while on another, she was relieved at having let off steam. To be fair, she knew her relatives were dutiful people who had made a commitment and were doing their best to honor it. At the same time, the hypocrisy of keeping up the two-sided pretense that her current living situation was anything other than a business arrangement was becoming more and more difficult for her to deal with.
     
    I just wish it were over! she