Bruce put two more plates in the dishwasher, then turned. He actually smiled at me. “Hi. Warren’s downstairs doing a paper for his Econ class and your mom isn’t home yet. Are you hungry? There’s pizza in the fridge.”

  I stared at him. “Are you for real? Or did you get replaced by a pod person?”

  “Good one.” He laughed. “We’ve been a little hard on each other, Sarah. I figure if I want us to get along, I should try too. Pizza?”

  “Yeah. That sounds good.” I put my backpack and purse by the breakfast bar and got a plate.

  Bruce loaded it up with two pieces of combination pizza from Parthenon’s. He put the plate in the microwave while I took out a bowl of salad. “So, did you find everything Priscilla liberated?”

  “Not yet.” I eyed him warily and waited for the explosion. “Why? Aren’t you going to give me that ‘Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me twice, shame on me.’ lecture?”

  “Make me a list of what’s still missing and I’ll take her around tomorrow to collect it,” Bruce said. “She needs to learn responsibility.”

  “Now, I know I’m in the Twilight Zone.”

  It amazed me when he grinned and handed me a Coke to go with my pizza and salad. I totally didn’t know what was happening, and I was afraid to ask.

  Mom pulled in just before ten, another shock. Normally, she wouldn’t be home before midnight when she closed Book City. She put her briefcase and purse down on the counter and came across to hug me. Okay, now I knew I’d come in the wrong house. My mother wasn’t the touchy-feely kind. She snuggled with Princess Priss, but I wasn’t her type.

  I didn’t shrug her off, but I couldn’t help eyeballing her. “What’s going on?”

  Mom and Bruce shared a look. He poured her a glass of white wine and she sat down on the other side of the breakfast bar. “I had a meeting tonight with someone I think you’ve already met. Helene Nelson.”

  I sipped my soda while I thought. “Is she one of Grandma’s customers? The one who leases Houston?”

  “That’s right,” Mom said. “Your grandmother’s customers come from all walks of life, and Helene is a social worker for Child Protective Services. She thinks Bruce beats you. She informed us that she’s opened a case to investigate us and she’s also emailing your father.”

  I stared at the two of them. My head spun and my stomach lurched. All at once, I tasted the pizza all over again. I slid off my chair and ran for the bathroom, barely making the toilet in time. I puked up everything, pizza, salad, soda.

  How could I be so stupid?

  Afterwards, I locked the door. Then I brushed my teeth and gargled till I couldn’t taste anything but mint mouthwash.

  Why hadn’t I trusted myself? I’d known something was rotten in the state of Denmark, as Mr. Barrett said, as soon as Mom and Bruce started being nice to me. And now I had to face them. Things would only get worse if I tried to avoid them.

  Somebody knocked on the door. “Sarah, are you all right?” Mom called.

  “Fine.” I opened the door and stared at her. “Next time, you two decide to gang up on me, could you put a sign on the front door so I have some warning? Then I can find somewhere else to stay rather than Priscilla’s Palace, like with one of the friends you don’t believe I have.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mom demanded. “I came home early because there’s a problem here that we need to deal with.”

  “Oh yeah, and of course, I’m it.” I saw Bruce behind her with one of his imported beers.

  “I know neither of you believes a word I say, but I don’t lie. When she saw me on Sunday, I told Helene I got hurt at school,” I said. “I didn’t want her to think that Grandma kept crazy horses around and one of them attacked me.”

  “Well, she didn’t believe you,” Bruce told me, taking a swallow of his beer. “She showed up at my job yesterday to talk to me, and tonight she wanted to speak to your mom.”

  “I’ll say it again and this time I’ll talk slow so even you get it, Brucie. I barely even spoke to the woman. I went to sleep in Grandma’s room and when I woke up, Helene and Aunt Cathy headed to the barn.”

  Bruce looked at me and then at Mom.

  “We believe you,” Bruce said. “It’s just that we didn’t realize how many problems the family had until Helene contacted us. When there are problems, we need to solve them.”

  “That’s right,” Mom said. “Now, what do you think we need to do to make things better around here? Sending Priscilla to the dog pound is not an option.”

  “She makes me crazy,” I admitted. “But I’d never let anybody hurt her. I’m done babysitting her all the time. I can get a job taking care of other kids and pay rent if that’s what you want. But I’m not quitting cheer squad or being kicked out of the academy because I can’t keep up my grades.”

  “Nobody says you have to.” Mom took a deep breath. “Why would you think we want you in a different school?”

  “Because you’ve done everything you could to get me out of cheer squad since I started in middle school.” I ducked under her arm and led the way back to the kitchen. “I love it so you want to take it away. Abbie says, cheer is our exit ticket out of Stewart Falls. I figure that the academy is the same kind of deal, sort of like trying to make me agree to let you sell Xanadu. And I’ve seen what you two do to Warren. I wouldn’t get a cent of the money.”

  The two of them eyed each other, and Bruce slowly shook his head. “It sounds to me like Helene’s right. We have some serious stuff to handle around here.”

  “And we will.” Mom picked up her glass of wine off the counter. “We don’t need a social worker to straighten us out, Sarah.”

  “Right now, Priscilla will be spending her afternoons at Mrs. Larrison’s daycare,” Bruce said. “She can earn the privilege to have her days back with you or Warren. I didn’t think about it until Helene pointed out that giving away your things crossed several boundaries.”

  “What else?” Mom sipped her wine. “You need a room of your own. Bruce and I will move our belongings out of the guestroom and you can have it.”

  “Not unless the rent’s real cheap,” I said. “And I’d rather save the money that Annie’s going to pay me for taking care of Trina. Then I can use it to get out of Stewart Falls and away from Priscilla’s Palace and the two of you forever.”

  Mom choked. “What? How can you say something so hurtful?”

  “Oh, come on.” I hitched up on a stool. “You two have been crapping on me for six years and you really think I’m going to stay here once I turn eighteen? Get serious. I’ll be out of here even sooner if Dad gets stationed state-side for a while.”

  I was pushing it, but I figured it was worth the risk. I’d either get a room of my own, or they’d try to stuff me back in with Princess Priss. I wasn’t going there, but they didn’t need to know that.

  Mom heaved a sigh. “I know you think that we charge Warren rent because we want to control or abuse him, Sarah, but you don’t understand everything. Warren earns a lot of money with his computers and as a tutor. He has way too much disposable income. He spends every cent he makes, and he doesn’t save a dime.”

  That was what she thought, and I didn’t bother to correct her. Warren put most of what he earned in the bank. He’d need it when he moved into his own place in June. My big brother wasn’t as stupid as he acted, and he’d told me before that we needed to look out for each other. He kept my secrets, and I kept his.

  “We pay the utilities and insurance for the basement apartment out of his rent,” Bruce went on. “The rest goes in a bank account for him. Warren gets that money when he graduates in June.”

  I stared at Bruce. “You give up money? No way. You clean your fingernails over a flower-pot.”

  “I’m not that bad.” Bruce laughed. “The money’s for him, Sarah. He can use it to go to college and finish his degree.”

  I shook my head. “He won’t. If you actually give him the money, he’ll use it to rent a place when he starts work in June.”

  “I want him to finish his degree,” Mom said. “He’d listen to you, Sarah. You should tell him.”

  “No way.” I propped my chin on my fist. “He already said he’s not doing any more college until he’s settled into his new job. And if the money was real, he’d have told me. He gets a place of his own and I can visit him, at least on weekends.”

  “If he knew we had money for him, he’d be nagging us for it to buy more computers or other techno-garbage,” Mom said. “This may come as a shock, Sarah, but I love both of you a lot. I’ve busted my butt to take care of you two since you were born. I’m not saying you don’t make me angry at times. Between your ‘Wendy Whiner’ routine and his ‘Rescue Ranger’ act, the two of you drive me nuts.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “You’re welcome.” Mom slid off her stool. She came over and grabbed me in a fierce hug.

  “I can’t breathe.” I squawked.

  “Tough.” She hugged me harder. “When I heard Bruce left you in the parking lot at your grandmother’s, I nearly lost it. Don’t ever scare me like that again. You have a brain. Use it. Make your own choices. What was I supposed to do if you died? You could have been hit by a car or a truck or run over by a horse. Did you ever consider that?”

  “No, but what about Bruce? How come he’s not in trouble and I am?”

  “I already yelled at him on Sunday,” Mom said. “I heard about it from your grandma, my sisters, Adam, the riding instructor, and the trail guide. That was before the CPS worker talked to me. Believe me, I read Bruce his pedigree that afternoon.”

  She went on and on. I should have gotten mad about the lecture. I couldn’t. I didn’t. My mother actually loved me. She rarely showed it. She hardly ever said it. But tonight, she said she loved me. I snuggled close, as if I were a little kid. She cared.

  “I do love you, Mom.” I managed to say against her shoulder.

  SIXTEEN

  An hour later, I officially had a room of my own. Mom said she’d talked to Ms. Olson and told her I wouldn’t miss any more after-school practices for the rest of the school year. Ms. Olson had said if I kept on teaching B.J. and Dallas the senior varsity cheers and dances so they’d be ready for the game with Silverton on Friday, my absences wouldn’t count. And as long as I didn’t get hurt, I could keep being one of the flyers.

  “The girls can come here after school tomorrow.” Mom carried a laundry basket of my clothes into the guest-room—I mean, my room. “You can work with them all afternoon.”

  “What about Priscilla?” I took Mom’s real-estate books from the shelf so Bruce could carry them into the other room. “Are you guys serious about daycare? She’s only nine. She takes a lot of attention.”

  “That’s why she goes to Mrs. Larrison’s for the next month.” Mom’s voice was firm. “She’ll learn to follow the rules.”

  “It’s a life lesson,” Bruce said. “There are rules we all have to obey, whether we like it or not. It’ll be easier if Priscilla learns that lesson now, rather than waiting until she’s older.”

  “Where are the rest of your belongings?” Mom asked me. “Bruce planned to work on this project earlier, but everything was gone. Priscilla didn’t take all of your things.”

  I held her gaze with mine. “My stuff wasn’t safe here so I took it to my friends’.”

  Mom heaved a sigh and hugged me real quick. “Sarah, at some point, you really need to stop being such a drama queen. You have a room of your own and if you want to put a lock on the door to keep Priscilla out, it’s okay.”

  “I don’t think it will be necessary after we spend tomorrow night going around town and she has to bring back everything you haven’t found,” Bruce said. “I can stop at the hardware store and pick up a lock if you want.”

  “No, we can give it a try,” I said. “You could always put a lock on later.”

  “Okay.” Bruce left.

  I studied Mom, watching her put my clothes away. She’d suckered me at first, but I wasn’t that dumb, not really. How could I trust her after six years of living in a house where I didn’t count?

  I knew everything would return to normal as soon as she got over being worried about Helene, CPS and the upcoming hassle with Dad, but I decided to enjoy the respite. I’d pretend I was as good as Priscilla and this was my house and family, too, even though I knew it was totally bogus.

  Mom closed the dresser drawer and turned to me. “I know you’re going to a party at Abbie’s this weekend.”

  “Yeah, I wanted to ask you if I could stay over at Rita’s Friday night,” I said. “We’ll be leaving early for the Rec Cheer competition in Everett.”

  “The what?” Mom frowned. “I was counting on you to be home this weekend.”

  “Really?” I asked. “Why? Didn’t you just give me the speech that Priscilla would be at Mrs. Larrison’s for day-care?”

  “That’s on weekdays,” Mom said. “You and Warren will still need to take care of her when Bruce and I have to work on Saturdays.”

  My stomach suddenly started to hurt, and I folded my arms across it. I struggled not to scream. “Didn’t you tell Ms. Olson that I wouldn’t miss out on any of my cheerleading activities?”

  “We were talking about your practices after school and the games.” Mom looked puzzled. “How was I supposed to know that cheerleaders attended some kind of competitions? You never did that when you were in middle school or last year when you were a freshman.”

  “Junior Varsity doesn’t go to the competitions because it costs more money and most of the parents won’t let the girls put in the practices that it takes to be good,” I said. “I’m on the Senior Varsity squad now. We represent the academy all over western Washington. If we qualify, we’ll go to California in the spring. And now that I’m on this squad, we also go with the sports teams when they go to State.”

  She was shaking her head like she hadn’t heard any of this before. It reminded me of the fair when I won enough of my classes that I was invited back for Championship Day. She’d tried to keep me home so I could babysit then too. Warren had stepped up and looked after Priscilla. Aunt Cathy had trailered Xanadu back to the fair, and Grandma’s 4-H club had rallied around because I was the only one who made the cut. They groomed my horse and waited on me and my Arabian, hand and hoof. Of course, Mom had to go to Book City. She couldn’t come watch me show my horse against the best riders in the county.

  “You signed the papers for me to be on the squad,” I said, biting my lip. I wouldn’t cry in front of her. She’d know she’d won and ruined my life one more time. Gawd, I felt stupid for trusting her for even a heartbeat. “And Dad agreed to pay for everything so it’s not costing you a cent. Well, except now you’re out the money for a babysitter.”

  “What’s going on?” Bruce came back into the room. “Why do we need a babysitter? I thought we agreed that Priscilla was going to Mrs. Larrison’s after school.”

  “She is,” I said. “But Mom says I can’t go to the cheerleading competition this Saturday. And that will get me kicked off the squad for good. So, you should both be super happy for wrecking my life.”

  “I didn’t say that.” Mom shot me a dirty look. “I said I was counting on you to look after Priscilla this Saturday and you didn’t give me enough notice to find someone else.”

  “We have three days,” Bruce said. “How many do we need?”

  I caught my breath, stared at him. “I can go to the Rec Cheer competition?”

  “Of course, you’re going.” Bruce pointed to the radio clock on my nightstand. “And now it’s almost midnight. Go to bed, Sarah. It won’t teach Priscilla not to cross boundaries if you and Warren look after her on the weekends. You have a month off from her. Enjoy it.”

  I almost wanted to hug the guy, but neither of us would be comfortable with that, not after six years of warring with each other. Instead, I watched him and Mom leave the room. She was still complaining. He explained if I pitched a fit at Helene and Dad about not being allowed to attend cheer events, it would undo all the good they’d started tonight. He wanted Priscilla to grow up to be a human being, and the lessons needed to start now.

  For the first time, I wondered if Bruce would be more decent if he’d married somebody else. Had he been a total jerk when he was with Priscilla’s mom or did my mother bring out the worst in him? Granted, she’d had a couple glasses of wine, but that was barely any compared to what she usually drank, so why didn’t she get it?

  Mom surprised me the next morning when I was packing lunches for me and Warren. I eyed her warily while she moseyed around the kitchen in her robe, pouring a cup of coffee, putting a slice of bread in the toaster. Then I decided to go for it. “The cheer competition will last most of Saturday. It’d be easier if I just go to B.J.’s afterward. Your Aunt Liz will take us to Horse Heaven on Sunday and then drop me back here.”

  “Why don’t you ask B.J. and Rita to stay here on Saturday night? You’re an important part of this family, Sarah. Helene told me that you won’t have your friends here because you feel unwanted and that you have no value. It’s a pattern we need to change.”

  “I guess I can ask them today at school,” I agreed reluctantly. “If their folks say no, can I stay at Rita’s and B.J.’s this weekend?”

  “Yes,” Mom said. “I want you to promise that you’ll invite a friend to stay over the following weekend.”

  “That’s Homecoming,” I said. “Everybody will be too busy.”

  She came over to me and framed my face with her hands. “Sarah, I can’t change things here by myself. You have to try too. Deal?”

  “Yeah,” I said, but I was lying. No way would any of this last more than a couple of days. “Deal.”

  At lunch, I sat with Vonnie, Rita, and Kaitlyn. Jason was across the Commons with a few of the guys from the team, and I wasn’t going over there, not when he’d been so mean at practice yesterday.

  I pulled out my phone and checked messages. Surprisingly, I had one from Annie Kincaid. She wanted to know if I could pick up Trina after school and take care of her until seven p.m., but it might run a little later.