Free Rattled by Lisa Harrington Page A

punishment being sent to your room these days,” she would say, “iPods, TVs, a bed! …that’s no hardship. Wish someone would send me to my room and make me stay there for an hour.” So, it was off to the bathroom for us, and let me just say, sitting in the bathroom for an hour? Pretty boring, not much else to do but…think.
    Okay, so the truth may have been the way to go. I mean, I hadn’t done anything wrong. My issue was that I knew no matter how I explained it, Mrs. Swicker wasn’t going to believe me. She’d be convinced I was up to something. I wanted to shake myself and say, “What do I care what she thinks? I can’t stand the woman.” And that was true. I really did feel that way. But there was something else: Mrs. Swicker kind of scared me. I think I was actually afraid of her.
    And what about that rattle? The name—Amy Elizabeth. Who was that? And the date—July 1, 1994. I was pretty sure Megan had mentioned once her birthday was around Christmas. Did Sam and Megan have a sister? Where was she? And the other blanket and rattle. Who did those belong to? It all kind of weirded me out. I massaged my temples. I was starting to get a headache. Lucky for me, I was in the bathroom. I popped a couple Advil and leaned against the vanity.
    There was an impatient knock on the bathroom door. “Yo! Did you fall in or what?”
    Jilly. I decided not to answer her. It seemed to work. I heard her footsteps leaving.
    I wondered what my odds were of ever getting back to that furnace room and that box, checking out the other rattle, seeing what else was in there. As I sat back down on the edge of the tub, I heard the tinkle of a bell. It was Megan’s key chain in my pocket. A smile spread across my face. I wondered how long it would take for someone to realize I still had it. Could I hang on to it long enough to get back in their house? Would I have the guts to actually go? If they asked for it back, I could say I misplaced it or something. Yeah, that could work. Of course I would have to wait for the right opportunity. Obviously the house would have to be empty. Unfortunately that didn’t seem to be very often.
    There was a brief moment when I contemplated just asking Sam and Megan, asking them about the rattles and this Amy Elizabeth. I talked myself out of it. I couldn’t picture myself bringing it up. It would totally look like I’d been snooping.
    There was another knock at the door.
    â€œLid! Get out! I wanna use the bathroom.”
    â€œJust use the downstairs one, would ya?”
    â€œNo! I have to do my eyebrows and I need Mom’s tweezers. God, I’m starting to look like I’ve been raised by wolves.”
    â€œCome back in five minutes. Is that too much to ask?”
    â€œHoly crap, Lid! I’m not asking for a friggin’ kidney. Get out of the bathroom!”
    I knew I’d never get any peace now. “Fine!” I huffed, and stormed out. “And you’re right! You do look like you’ve been raised by wolves!” I hollered just before I slammed my bedroom door.

Chapter 13
    W e were sitting at Megan’s kitchen table. It was one of the few times I had actually been allowed in the house. Mrs. Swicker had to be home. That was the rule. Counting in my head, not including the cake delivery and feeding Peter, this was only the third time I’d been in their house since they’d moved in. Mrs. Swicker was downstairs doing God knows what. Megan said laundry. My guess was trying to make contact with her home planet.
    I’d just finished telling Megan about the big scandal at Dad’s office. Kelley, the girl I was filling in for, had taken her vacation with some guy she’d met on an online dating site, and after just two days, they’d bolted to Vegas and got married.
    She didn’t seem to find the story as fascinating as I did. Actually, I wasn’t even sure she’d been listening.