Read Online Fragmented by Eliza Lentzski - Free Book Online Page B

didn’t know if I should defend my name or let the insult drop. “Who’s Anna?” I asked instead.
    The woman nearly rolled her eyes. “Raleigh. Anna Raleigh King.”
    My features scrunched together. “Raleigh’s real name is Anna?”
    “Yes.” The door seemed to shut even more. “Why are you here again?”
    I fished a notebook out of my messenger bag as if it were evidence that I was telling the truth. “I go to school with your niece?”
    The woman, apparently Raleigh’s aunt, finally let me in.
    When I walked through the front door, I resisted the urge to duck my head. The low popcorn ceilings were high enough that slouching was unnecessary, but the décor was disorienting; the house looked like it had been built in the 1970s and hadn’t ever been updated. I felt my anxiety spike at all the religious paraphernalia I found inside. I’d never seen so many crosses outside of a church.
    Raleigh’s aunt hadn’t instructed me to take off my shoes, but I did so out of respect or reflex.
    As I passed a formal dining room I saw one of those word paintings, only instead of something warm and encouraging, a somber message from the Old Testament was scrawled across the wall: The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
    “Third door on the right.”
    “Huh?” I tore my eyes away from the Bible verse.
    I could tell Raleigh’s aunt was rapidly losing patience with me. “Anna’s bedroom is down the hallway, third door on the right. Didn’t you say you came here for school notes?”
    “Oh, right. Sorry.” I mentally shook myself. I needed to keep it together or this woman was going to boot me from her home before I ever got to see Raleigh.
    I walked down the corridor and passed two open doors—a bathroom and the laundry room. The third door on the right was open as well. Inside the small bedroom, I found Raleigh reclined on a twin-sized mattress with an afghan covering her legs. Sunshine shown into the room, scattered by a white, lace drapery that resembled an oversized doily. The natural light bounced off of Raleigh’s hair, already the color of sunlight. It reminded me of a key scene from one of my favorite old movies—when Cary Grant finally tracks down Deborah Kerr after she fails to show up at the top of the Empire State Building.
    I was struck by how peaceful and serene she sat, reading her book. She looked so … so normal. Beautiful, but normal, I decided on—like she might stand up at any moment.
    I rapped my knuckles against the wooden doorframe.
    Raleigh’s eyes lifted from the page. “Harper.” She closed her book.
    “Hi.” I righted myself.
    If my unannounced appearance fazed her, she didn’t let on.
    “What are you reading?” I asked.
    She touched the spine of the old-looking hardcover book. “ Swiss Family Robinson. ”
    I admittedly knew next to nothing about her, and yet the book selection was unexpected. Something more somber and serious like Crime and Punishment or Wuthering Heights seemed more appropriate. Something in my face must have given me away.
    “Haven’t you ever wished you were marooned on a tropical island, away from it all?” she posed.
    “As long as I have sunscreen.”
    Raleigh folded her hands in her lap. My eyes were drawn to the movement. I could see the twin lumps of her kneecaps hidden beneath the blanket. I immediately looked away, however; I didn't want her to think I was staring at her legs yet again.
    “Can I help you with something?”
    “Oh, right.” I laughed and shook my head. “I was wondering if I could take a look at your psychology notes from today.”
    “You missed lunch, too,” she noted. “What happened?”
    “The people I babysit for had a last minute emergency.”
    Raleigh’s hazel-green eyes inspected me. “You must really be serious about school if it couldn’t wait a day.”
    I felt uncomfortable all over again. “Yeah, I know,” I grunted. “But I