Free Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson Page B

I’ll like them.
    We see TV reporters following us with cameras, but they don’t come close. We pretend they’re not there.
    Every night we have dinner as a family, and even though he doesn’t look happy, Jay stays at the table. I learn that he spends most of his time with a friend named Trent. And when Mom drags it out of him that he has a girlfriend named Nona, he smiles. I want to meet his friends, and I hope that Jay staying at the table is a beginning, a sign that someday I’ll be able to.
    Another week has gone by, and I’m doing all right. Leehas called for me three times, but then she gives up on me and talks to Mom. She wants all of us to come over for dinner with her and Aunt Hannah. Mom isn’t sure it would be right, but Lee insists. She talks and talks and lets Mom go and then calls back. She says the whole family needs to be together and Aunt Hannah needs us, and finally, Mom agrees.
    An hour before we’re supposed to leave, Beth calls. I hear Dad’s side of the conversation, and he’s repeating the words to a children’s story. He’s talking about a black bear whose best friend was a field mouse, and while he recites the words to the story, he smiles.
    I told Lola and Barbie stories just like that. There was the one about Mr. Otter and Mr. Turkey, based on Mom’s obsession with the high school mascot, but there was also the one about Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, which was new to the kids because we didn’t have a TV. I even told them the one about the sponge who lived under the sea in a town called Bikini Bottom. I loved telling them stories. I used to smile just like Dad.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    I can hear them laughing.
    More, Chel!
    Chel, another one!
    When Mom knocks on my door, I’m crying.
    â€œHoney, we don’t have to do this,” she says. She thinks I’m crying about the dinner.
    â€œNo, I want to,” I say. I blow my nose into a Kleenex.
    â€œDr. Kayla says we shouldn’t push you.”
    I’ve seen her twice since I walked out, but I haven’t said much. Mom thinks that means I’m not ready for anything. But Lee told Mom she’s convinced Aunt Hannah not to ask me any questions, and I believe Lee.
    I want to see her. I want to leave my room, because I’ve lived in one room for so long. I’ve had this week with Mom and Dad and Jay, but there’s more out there. If I’m going to stay, if I’m going to be Amy, I have to leave this tiny world again.
    â€œI’m going,” I say.
    â€œOkay, if you’re sure,” Mom says.
    â€œI am.”

AUNT HANNAH GIVES me a hug. Her long hair brushes against the side of my face, and she swipes it back as she pulls away from me. She’s tall, maybe five ten. Her hair is going gray, but the way it blends in with the blond, it’s hard to tell. If it weren’t for the dark circles under her eyes, she’d look much younger than she is. She smiles and says hello to my parents, but the smile is only in her mouth. She turns away from all of us and heads back into the kitchen.
    â€œHey!” Lee gives me a big hug. Then she hugs my mom and my dad. She gives Jay a smile and a fist bump.
    â€œWe shouldn’t have come,” my mom whispers.
    â€œIt’s all right,” says Lee with a wide smile. It’s strained, but she’s playing it for all it’s worth.
    A great racket comes from the kitchen. Metal crashes against metal. Glass breaks. It sounds like Aunt Hannah is knocking over chairs, and then it sounds like she’s knocked over the whole table. Dishes break and shatter, and there’s a huge crash.
    My dad hangs his head.
    My mom wipes her eyes.
    Lee’s smile fades.
    â€œAll right, then,” says Jay. He locks eyes with Lee, shakes his head, and leads the way out of the house. We all follow.
    â€œI’m sorry,” I say to Lee as we leave.
    She sighs. “It’s not