Read Online Poisonous: A Novel by Allison Brennan - Free Book Online Page B

ladder.
    “Password.”
    “Ugh,” she groaned. She didn’t say anything for a minute, a frown on her face. Then suddenly she snapped her fingers. “SpongePants SquareBob!”
    He laughed. “See, you remembered!”
    She climbed up the ladder and sat on the trapdoor ledge. “What are you doing up here so late?”
    “I sent Austin an e-mail. I’m waiting for him to send one back to me.” Amanda knew that Austin wasn’t supposed to come over here, but she didn’t tell on him to their dad. As long as Austin was nice to Tommy, she wouldn’t say anything.
    “Is Austin still grounded? I thought I saw him here this afternoon.”
    “He’s not grounded anymore.” Tommy looked down at his laptop. Austin still hadn’t e-mailed him. It had been fifteen minutes.
    “Hey, Tommy, it’s okay,” Amanda said.
    “It’s my fault he was grounded.”
    “That’s stupid.”
    He stared at his hands.
    “Hey—I’m sorry.” She took his hands. “I didn’t mean that you were stupid, Tommy. I meant that it’s not your fault that Austin was grounded. His mother told him he couldn’t see you, and he broke the rules.”
    “Do you think that’s fair? Maybe I should stay away from him so he doesn’t get into any more trouble.”
    “No, it’s not fair. And if you want to see Austin—if he is good to you—then you should see him. Paula is a bitch.”
    “Don’t say that.”
    “She is, and I don’t care if you don’t want to hear it. She is a mean, nasty bitch. She hurt your feelings for no reason except that she’s a stuck-up bitch. Austin knows he’ll get in trouble, but he still comes over anyway. I think that means he really likes you.”
    “We’re brothers. Brothers love each other, just like we do.” Tommy smiled.
    Amanda was sixteen and just got her driver’s license last month. She took him to school every morning now. He put his bike in the back because she had stuff to do after school and he rode his bike home. She never once complained about driving him places. Amanda agreed with Austin that Tommy should be able to get his driver’s license. She said she’d help him study for the test. She also said she’d talk to their mom about letting him get his license, but she hadn’t done that yet. She said she had to find the right time. He didn’t understand that, but maybe that just meant when their mom wasn’t tired or upset. She was tired or upset a lot.
    Amanda tilted her head. “You’ve been spending a lot of time in the tree house over the last couple of weeks.”
    “I like it here.” That was true, but it felt like he was lying to her, and he didn’t like the feeling. “You think tree houses are for little kids?”
    “Who told you that?” Amanda demanded, suddenly mad. “Was it Austin?”
    “No, Austin likes the tree house.”
    “Then who?”
    “Why are you mad?”
    “I think this tree house is fantastic. Even if Daddy built it for the wrong reasons.”
    Tommy had no idea what she meant. “He didn’t want to?” He realized he was about to cry. The best thing his dad ever gave him was this tree house. “You’re still mad at Daddy for leaving. He left a long time ago.”
    “Seven and a half years ago.”
    “Well, I guess—you think—I mean, Mom said once that the tree house was a guilt house. What does that mean?”
    Amanda didn’t want to tell him, he knew it. Sometimes Amanda treated him like a little kid, like his mom, but more and more she was treating him like Austin did, like a big kid. Now she said, “You always wanted a tree house, right? Ever since you saw it in Little Rascals. ”
    He nodded. He loved that movie.
    “Dad built it right before he left. Mom says he did it because he felt guilty. She says he already knew he was leaving, and that he built it so you wouldn’t hate him.”
    “But I don’t hate Daddy. I don’t hate anyone.”
    She hugged him tightly. “That’s why I love you so much, Tommy. Now, let’s go in the house. It’s getting late, and we both