Free While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin Page A

closet full of old clothes that no one ever wore.
    “Knock, knock,” Penny finally called through the back screen door. “Lunch all finished?”
    Esther wove through the piles of junk to get to the door, relieved to see Penny. “Can we go home now?” she whispered.
    Penny had filled two more shopping bags full of her things, and she lugged them to the bus stop. When the bus arrived, she set them down for a minute to help an elderly woman board the bus – then nearly left the bags behind. “I’m such a scatterbrain,” she fussed when they were safely on board.
    The woman reached across the aisle to pat Penny’s hand. “Thank you for your kindness, dear. You don’t find very many young people who are kind these days, especially a pretty young lady like you.”
    Esther made a face. Did the woman need glasses? Penny wasn’t pretty at all.
    As soon as Esther stepped off the bus, she took off at a run, sprinting ahead of Penny and Peter all the way home and clambering up the stairs to their apartment. She had her own keys. Daddy had given them to her so she and Peter could let themselves into the apartment after school.
    That evening after supper, Esther was reading a book in the living room when she heard Penny’s raised voice coming from the kitchen. “You’re not being very nice, Peter. When someone asks you a question, you’re supposed to answer it.”
    Esther had never heard their mousy caretaker raise her voice before. She had spoken to them in a sickeningly sweet voice all week as if they were babies. Had Penny only pretended to be shy and nice all this time? Esther stuck a marker in her book and hurried to rescue her brother.
    Penny gripped Peter’s arm as he struggled to get away. “No, wait. I want to know why you won’t talk to me. You’ve been ignoring my questions all week. I don’t want to write to your father, but – ”
    “Don’t you dare touch my brother!” Esther grabbed Peter’s other arm, winning the tug-of-war as she yanked him away from Penny. He looked pale and frightened, but he didn’t cry out or make a sound. “Come on, Peter.” Esther pulled him upstairs to the bedroom they shared and slammed the door.
    “Are you okay?” she asked. He nodded.
    “What was Penny so mad about?” He stared at her, not blinking. “Come on, you can tell me. I’m on your side.” She waited, trying to be patient, but he still said nothing. “Are you mad at me or something?”
    He shook his head as tears pooled in his eyes. “Then why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Peter’s face turned red as he continued to stare at her, his mouth slightly open as if he was trying to speak – but nothing came out.
    “What’s the matter with you?” she asked, giving him a shove. Esther wouldn’t hurt her brother for anything in the world, but there was something unnatural about the mute way he stood there, as if he couldn’t breathe or was choking on something. Her heart sped up. “Say something! If this is a game, then it isn’t very funny.”
    Peter lowered his gaze and lifted his bony shoulders as if trying to make his head disappear down the collar of his shirt. He never had been a chatterbox like Esther was, and when he did speak it had always been in a soft mumble. People would have to lean real close to hear what he was saying, and Grandma Shaffer, who was hard of hearing, couldn’t hear him at all. Everyone always said that Esther did enough talking for the both of them.
    “Now, listen to me, Peter. I’m mad about the way things are around here, too, but it’s going to get a whole lot worse if we make Penny mad. So come on, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong. I promise I won’t tell anybody.” She waited for almost a minute, but Peter still didn’t reply. “Are you mad at me?” she asked again.
    He shook his head and a tear slipped down his cheek. He wiped it with the heel of his hand. Esther sighed and sank down on her own bed across from his, listening to the traffic noise