House at the End of the Street Read Free Page A

propelled you out of whatever boring sphere you occupied and into his world, where everything was more exciting, more dangerous.
    Elissa pushed through the woods, remembering the feel of Luca’s hands on her skin, how he held the sides of her face as he kissed her hard on the mouth. She’d curl up in his lap, letting his hands get lost in her hair. After three months, she’d come home one night to find Sarah, red-eyed and exhausted, sitting up at the kitchen table.
We’re moving
, she’d announced, without offering any discussion. They’d fought until two thirty that morning, with Sarah saying that they needed a new start, that Rossmore wasn’t for them anymore. Didn’t Elissa want to live in a bigger house? Go to a better public school? Moving would increase her chances of getting into a good college.
    Elissa knew her mother could see it happening—howElissa could so easily become her: pregnant at seventeen, married at nineteen, with a daughter who looked more like a sister. She wanted to say it wasn’t possible, that things with Luca were never serious, but she was afraid of something she’d suspected all along—that Sarah and her father hadn’t been serious either. That part of those first years, when they were so young and when her mother had gotten pregnant, had been a mistake.
    She agreed then. She didn’t want to repeat her mother’s mistakes.
    The sky grew darker. Elissa looked back, suddenly realizing how fast she’d been walking. She was far out into the woods, and all the trees looked the same. The birds were quiet. She heard a twig snap somewhere behind her and spun around, staring into the darkness. The hair on her arms bristled. She scanned the horizon, looking for signs of which way she’d come from, when she saw her mother in the kitchen window, so far below. She turned and ran, sprinting as fast as she could, not knowing what exactly had frightened her.

“B ombs away!” a tan girl in a purple bikini screamed. She ran over the brick patio and leapt into the pool. A giant wave surged out around her, rippling the water’s crystal surface. The Reynoldses’ house was three times the size of Elissa’s, complete with a pool, waterfall, and hot tub. These people had money. A few guys and girls lounged around the kidney-shaped pool sunbathing, while others played Marco Polo in the shallow end.
    Bonnie Reynolds dragged Elissa away from her mom, insisting Elissa just
had
to meet her son. “That’s Tyler,” she said, pointing to a muscular boy with electric green swimming trunks. “You should get him to show you around. Tyler’s captain of the swim team, and he’s just a junior. He and his friends started an after-school club for famine reliefand raised over a thousand dollars last year.” She raked her manicured fingernails through her highlighted hair. “Was it Africa or Tibet? Don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it was one of those starving places.”
    Elissa nodded, trying to focus on the cheeseburgers sizzling on the grill or the inflatable pool ball that flew over the picnic table. She’d been in Bonnie’s presence all of three minutes, and she couldn’t stand her any longer. You could tell Mrs. Reynolds was the type of parent who thought whatever Tyler did (tying his shoes, making his bed, blowing his nose) was worthy of a standing ovation. Elissa was about to break free when Tyler—the man, the myth, the legend himself—strode over. He narrowed his gray eyes at his mom, and she sauntered back toward the adults.
    “Sorry about that,” he said coolly. “She give you the full treatment?” He patted himself down with a towel, flicking back a few strands of wet hair.
    “Don’t sweat it—moms can be like that.” Elissa smiled, thankful that Tyler was at least semi-normal. “I’m sure you’re really a total loser.”
    Tyler laughed—a real, genuine laugh, and led her over to the buffet table. There were plates of coleslaw and French fries, a tray of hot dogs, and her