Read Online The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Tags: Fiction
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missed real Chicago pizza while Pauline held out her car key to Maggie, showing her that it was scorched and melted on one side.
“I threw it in our fireplace once, when I was really annoyed with the car.” She tucked it into the pocket of her jeans, then looked up and over Maggie’s shoulder. “Hey,” she said, pointing through the glass wall of the pizza shop. “Look.” Inside the store everyone—every single person—was staring up at the TV. “Let’s go inside to hear better.” They trickled in, rubbing their cheeks to warm them up, and listened and watched.
A third girl had been found in White Stone. She hadn’t come home from school the day before, and they’d found her that morning in the water, about fifty yards offshore. The newscasters had started to use the word serial . An 8:00 p.m. curfew had been issued for the entire county for anyone under twenty-one. And the bridge between Gill Creek and the mainland would be put up tonight, in case the perpetrator was still on the peninsula and could be caught.
“Looks like you moved here just in time,” Pauline said, “for the whole county to start shutting down around us.”
That night, because Mrs. Boden was out at a town meeting, they watched movies on Pauline’s giant TV. Pauline looked to be half asleep when she seemed to remember something and went into the kitchen, then came out again and handed Maggie a piece of paper.
“Here,” she said.
Maggie stared at it. It was covered in pictures of Grumpy Cat, an angry blue-eyed cat from the internet.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Just a Grumpy Cat collage. I made it for you during study hall. I tried to capture all of his best expressions,” she said sleepily, laying her head on the arm of the couch and stretching her legs onto Liam.
“Um, thanks?”
Pauline conked out halfway through the first movie.
“Does she always fall asleep so fast?” Maggie asked.
Liam nodded. “She falls asleep at the movie theater.”
They turned back to the movie, then Liam went on, his voice low. “People think she’s kind of this wild girl. But she’s really just like a kid. She gets excited about everything, and then she crashes.”
“Do you think we should leave?” Maggie whispered.
Liam rubbed his finger along his lip, studying Pauline as if trying to decide. Then he stood up. Without a word he crouched and lifted Pauline off the couch and put her over his shoulder. Maggie stood and watched him walk up the first couple of stairs, staying where she was, until Liam looked over his shoulder at her.
“Come on up.”
Maggie followed him up the rest of the stairs and down the hall to Pauline’s room. In the dim light from the hall, Liam walked over to the bed and laid Pauline down in it, first pulling back the covers and then bending to drape her on the bed. He pulled the blankets all the way back up to her chin, and Pauline’s eyes fluttered for a moment and then closed again. She looked peaceful and, like Liam had said, kidlike. Liam touched his hand to her hair and kissed her on the forehead, and Maggie felt her heart beat faster, as if she were seeing something she shouldn’t. Finally she turned away and stared into the dark hall. There were pictures on the wall of Pauline and her mom and dad through the years. Her mom looked a lot less polished, in T-shirts and jeans, and a lot happier in the eyes. Her dad, apparently, was where Pauline had inherited her coloring and her high cheekbones.
Maggie felt Liam approaching her, and he put his arm on the door over her head.
“She likes to wake up in her bed. She says it makes her feel cozy. For all I know, she’s pretending she’s asleep just so I’d carry her,” he said.
He hovered there with his arm over her, and Maggie took a couple of steps backward. Stiffly she turned and led the way downstairs.
That night she pulled out her pencils again to have another go at the mural idea, but she couldn’t think of anything to sketch. She pulled out
“I threw it in our fireplace once, when I was really annoyed with the car.” She tucked it into the pocket of her jeans, then looked up and over Maggie’s shoulder. “Hey,” she said, pointing through the glass wall of the pizza shop. “Look.” Inside the store everyone—every single person—was staring up at the TV. “Let’s go inside to hear better.” They trickled in, rubbing their cheeks to warm them up, and listened and watched.
A third girl had been found in White Stone. She hadn’t come home from school the day before, and they’d found her that morning in the water, about fifty yards offshore. The newscasters had started to use the word serial . An 8:00 p.m. curfew had been issued for the entire county for anyone under twenty-one. And the bridge between Gill Creek and the mainland would be put up tonight, in case the perpetrator was still on the peninsula and could be caught.
“Looks like you moved here just in time,” Pauline said, “for the whole county to start shutting down around us.”
That night, because Mrs. Boden was out at a town meeting, they watched movies on Pauline’s giant TV. Pauline looked to be half asleep when she seemed to remember something and went into the kitchen, then came out again and handed Maggie a piece of paper.
“Here,” she said.
Maggie stared at it. It was covered in pictures of Grumpy Cat, an angry blue-eyed cat from the internet.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Just a Grumpy Cat collage. I made it for you during study hall. I tried to capture all of his best expressions,” she said sleepily, laying her head on the arm of the couch and stretching her legs onto Liam.
“Um, thanks?”
Pauline conked out halfway through the first movie.
“Does she always fall asleep so fast?” Maggie asked.
Liam nodded. “She falls asleep at the movie theater.”
They turned back to the movie, then Liam went on, his voice low. “People think she’s kind of this wild girl. But she’s really just like a kid. She gets excited about everything, and then she crashes.”
“Do you think we should leave?” Maggie whispered.
Liam rubbed his finger along his lip, studying Pauline as if trying to decide. Then he stood up. Without a word he crouched and lifted Pauline off the couch and put her over his shoulder. Maggie stood and watched him walk up the first couple of stairs, staying where she was, until Liam looked over his shoulder at her.
“Come on up.”
Maggie followed him up the rest of the stairs and down the hall to Pauline’s room. In the dim light from the hall, Liam walked over to the bed and laid Pauline down in it, first pulling back the covers and then bending to drape her on the bed. He pulled the blankets all the way back up to her chin, and Pauline’s eyes fluttered for a moment and then closed again. She looked peaceful and, like Liam had said, kidlike. Liam touched his hand to her hair and kissed her on the forehead, and Maggie felt her heart beat faster, as if she were seeing something she shouldn’t. Finally she turned away and stared into the dark hall. There were pictures on the wall of Pauline and her mom and dad through the years. Her mom looked a lot less polished, in T-shirts and jeans, and a lot happier in the eyes. Her dad, apparently, was where Pauline had inherited her coloring and her high cheekbones.
Maggie felt Liam approaching her, and he put his arm on the door over her head.
“She likes to wake up in her bed. She says it makes her feel cozy. For all I know, she’s pretending she’s asleep just so I’d carry her,” he said.
He hovered there with his arm over her, and Maggie took a couple of steps backward. Stiffly she turned and led the way downstairs.
That night she pulled out her pencils again to have another go at the mural idea, but she couldn’t think of anything to sketch. She pulled out
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