Read Online Time to Fly by Laurie Halse Anderson - Free Book Online

would miss Gran and Maggie and the other animals—”
    Oh, and I won’t ?
    â€œâ€”and that nice big backyard—”
    â€œYou said our house has a nice backyard!”
    â€œIt does, honey, but it’s small, and it’s not fenced. Wilshire Boulevard is a very busy street— the cars go so fast, and…” Her voice seems to quiver, then trails off.
    â€œThose are just lame excuses!” I retort. “You’re thinking only about what’s convenient for you. As usually, you’re not even considering how I feel!”
    â€œZoe!” Mom exclaims, trying to put on a scolding-mom voice. But it’s bad casting. She’s uneasy in the role. She’s never been that kind of mom.
    â€œYou just don’t get it!” I practically shout at her. “I love Sneakers! I don’t know what I would have done without him this past year. Sometimes I was so homesick. Sneakers was always there for me—when you weren’t!”
    Mom looks as though I’ve slapped her. “How can you say that?” she whispers.
    â€œEasily! You’re the one who hasn’t been around for almost a year. I have my own life here now, Mom, with Gran and Maggie—and Sneakers. You can’t just waltz in whenever it’s convenient for you and start changing my life around!”
    Mom freezes, and I can tell I’ve hurt her. But I don’t care. Now maybe she understands how badly she hurt me when she went away.
    â€œThat’s enough, Zoe,” she says quietly. “Like it or not, I’m your mother, and it’s my job to make decisions for us.”
    â€œYour job ?!” I scowl and turn away from her, so angry I’m afraid of what I might say next. Is it just my imagination, or is the sky getting darker by the second?
    She hesitates, then rests her hands lightly on my shoulders. “Sweetie, I know I’ve been busy. I know I should have called you more often. But with the three-hour time difference, by the time I’d finally get home in the evening, it was usually much too late to call.” Her voice is so wistful, it almost makes me feel guilty for being mean to her. “Oh Zoe, I’ve worked so hard for this—this job, and this house—but it means nothing to me if you’re not there to share it with me. I want you to come home.”
    I’ve waited so long to hear those words, yet now, instead of making me happy, they’re just making me upset and confused. I grip Sneakers’s leash, blinking hard and willing myself not to cry.
    She doesn’t even know me anymore. She’ll never understand how important Sneakers and everybody at Dr. Mac’s Place are to me. And besides, who knows how long her job will last? If her series is cancelled, then where will we go?
    â€œI’m not leaving Sneakers,” I announce. “And I’m not leaving the clinic, either.”
    â€œZoe, be reasonable—”
    â€œNo, Mom! Go have your wonderful career in Hollywood if you want. But I’m not going anywhere.”
    Sneakers is delighted when I bolt for home. It looks like it’s about to storm, anyway.
    Mom doesn’t run after me. And I don’t look back.

Chapter Seven
    I wake up early, before my alarm goes off. In my dream, thousands of people were squawking at me, telling me where to go and what to do.
    I blink my eyes and get a wet tongue in the face. “Morning, Sneak.”
    He gives me that little whine, the one that tells me it’s time to go . The rapid wag of the tail means now— as in five minutes ago.
    I roll out of bed, slide my feet into the leopard-print slippers Mom gave me for Christmas, and follow Sneakers downstairs. Out the backdoor window, I see that Mom and Gran are already awake and outside on the deck. Mom, up for sunrise? And why isn’t Gran tending to her patients? I pad through the kitchen and peek out. They’re sitting in the newly scoured deck