分节阅读_12

  , just a few streets south, off
  the highway. it was he supermarket; it felt normal. i
  did the shopping at home, ahe pattern of the familiar
  task gladly. the st enough i i 't hear the
  tapping of the raio remind me where i was.
  when i got home, i uhe groceries, stuffing them in wherever
  i d an open space. i hoped charlie wouldn't mind. i ed
  potatoes in foil and stu the oven to bake, covered a steak in
  marinade aop gs in the fridge.
  when i was fihat, i took my book bag upstairs. before
  starting my homework, i to a pair of dry sulled my damp
  hair up into a pony-tail, and checked my e-mail for the first time. i had
  three messages.
  ”bella,” my mom wrote…
  write me as soon as you get in. tell me hht was. is it
  raining? i miss you already. i'm almost finished pag for florida, but
  i 't find my pink blouse. do you k? phil says hi.
  mom.
  i sighed ahe was se hours after the first.
  ”bella,” she wrote…
  why haven't you e-mailed me yet? what are you waiting for? mom.
  the last was from this m.
  isabella,
  if i haven't heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today i'm g charlie.
  i checked the clock. i still had an hour, but my mom n for
  jumping the gun.
  mom,
  . i'm writing right now. don't do anything rash.
  bella.
  i sent that, and began again.
  mom,
  everythi. of course it's raining. i was waiting for something
  to write about. s't bad, just a little repetitive. i met some
  nice kids who sit by me at lunch.
  your blouse is at the dry ers - you were supposed to pick it up
  friday.
  e a tru you believe it? i love it. it's old, but
  really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.
  i miss you, too. i'll write again soon, but i'm not going to check my
  e-mail every five minutes. relax, breathe. i love you.
  bella.
  i had decided to read wutherihe novel we were tly
  studying in english — yet again for the fun of it, and that's what i was
  doing when charlie e. i'd lost trae, and i hurried
  downstairs to take the potatoes out aeak in to broil.
  ”bella?” my father called out when he heard me oairs.
  who else? i thought to myself.
  ”hey, dad, wele.”
  ”thanks.” he hung up his guepped out of his boots as i
  bustled about the kit. as far as i was aware, he'd he gun
  o he kept it ready. when i came here as a child, he would
  always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the duess he
  sidered me old enough now not to shoot myself by at, and not
  depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.
  ”what's for dinner?” he asked warily. my mother was an imaginative cook,
  as weren't always edible. i rised, and sad, that
  he seemed to remember that far back.
  ”steak and potatoes,” i answered, and he looked relieved.
  he seemed to feel awkward standig nothing; he
  lumbered into the living room to orked. we were both
  more fortable that way. i made a salad while the steaks d
  set the table.
  i called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as
  he walked into the room.
  ”smells good, bell.”
  ”thanks.”
  we ate in sileni wasn't unfortable. her of
  us was bothered by the quiet. in some ell suited for
  liviher.
  ”so, how did you like school? have you made any friends?” he asked as he
  was taking seds.
  ”well, i have a few classes with a girl named jessica. i sit with her
  friends at lund there's this boy, mike, who's very friendly.
  everybody seems pretty h oaion.
  ”th