Free Shadows 02 Girl in the Shadows by V. C. Andrews Page B

know is what I've been told by Mrs. Westington
and what Echo described to me earlier. I'm sorry if
Fin jumping to too many conclusions, but you're
guilty of the same sort of impulsive judgments," he
said, nodding at the rock.
I flicked the tears off my cheeks. Then I took a
deep breath. This was a big mess. I wasn't here a week
and already there was great turmoil. Does it just
follow me wherever I go? Will it always?
"Well, what do we do now?" I asked him. "Declare a truce," he said. "You want me to
row us back?"
"No, I can do it," I said, grabbing the oars
before he could. He shrugged and then leaned back. "I don't mind being spoiled." "Very funny." He looked at me with somewhat more trusting
eves. "Did you complete the evaluation exams?" "Yes."
"I'll pick them up and go over them tonight. I
don't give the equivalency exam, you know. You have
to schedule that at the public school. I'll help you
arrange for it when I think you're ready, if you're ever
ready."
"I'll be ready."
"So, if you don't mind telling me, why didn't
you remain living with your sister? Even though she's
off on tournaments, you could have stayed with her.
She would be considered your legal guardian. I'm
sure, and at least you could have remained in school
and had something of a normal life."
I continued to row,
"Why did you run away to live with your
uncle?"
I hesitated to say anything. I continued to row,
with him staring at me.
"You don't have to tell me anything." he added
in a tone of voice that meant precisely the opposite. "I couldn't get along with her roommate!" I
exclaimed.
"Oh? Why not?"
"She was too demanding."
"Demanding? In what way?"
"In a sexual way, if you have to know." I said.
"And my sister was upset about it. I knew that
somehow it would end up being my fault."
"What do you mean exactly? What did she do?"
he asked, his face full of interest and curiosity now. "I don't want to go into detail, Tyler. She
wanted to have sexual relations with me."
"Really? Did she just ask or what?"
"No, she did more than just ask. I said I don't
like talking about it. It was very, very disturbing at the
time and it's painful to think about it now."
He nodded. thinking. 'Why would your sister be
angry at you for something like that? You would think
she..." He thought again and then he nodded softly.
"Oh," he said. "You mean your sister and this other
woman were
"Yes."
"Man. you did have a screwed up family. A
lesbian sister, an uncle in love with a doll, and who
knows what else."
"My family wasn't screwed up! Not everyone
marches to the same drummer. I'd think you'd
understand that, being you're so intelligent." He shrugged. "What about you? Are you a
lesbian?" he asked with as much emotion a doctor
might show when he asked if I had an ache in my tar.
"Is that why your sister's lover made a pass at you?" "I don't think so," I said, "Just because one
person in your family is gay, it doesn't mean you have
to be."
"So why do you say you don't think so? Don't
you know for sure? Are you attracted more to girls
than boys?"
"I'd rather not talk about all that."
"Well, have you had boyfriends?" he pursued. "It's not really any of your business," I said. He didn't look angry about my reaction. He just looked pensive, again like some doctor reviewing symptoms. I rowed on, biting down on my lower lip and sucking back my tears. Talking about it only brought back my painful separation from Brenda and
the only family I knew,
"How did your parents die? An accident?" "No, my father had an inoperable brain tumor
and my mother fell into a deep depression and
overdosed on sleeping pills."
"Wow. I guess Mrs. Westington was right. You
have been dragged over the coals."
"I'm not looking for any sympathy," I said. I
wanted to add " especially from you," but I held that
back.
"That's good. Old Chinese proverb say 'He who
feels sorry for himself can demand an apology from
no one.' "
"What's that mean?" I asked. grimacing. He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I got it in a fortune
cookie." He