Leave it to Eva Read Free Page A

just Kate’s house and there was nothing to be afraid of.
    Or was there?

    After a few minutes the sound of Joey’s whistling faded away and I managed to work up the courage to walk around to the back of the house.
    Dry twigs cracked under my feet, and brambles snagged on my clothes.
    I felt sure that someone was following me, but when I turned around, all I could see were shadows and waving grass.
    It was like a weird, creepy game – except I didn’t know the rules, and I had no idea who else was playing.
    The back of the house was much like the front – neglected, overgrown and empty. I forced a laugh to make myself feel better.
    ‘You’re being stupid, Eva,’ I whispered. ‘There’s no one here. Kate’s in Cork.’
    I was talking to myself, which is totally weird, so I knew it was time to go.
    I was just turning around to leave, when I thought I saw one of the downstairs curtains twitching … now I was really spooked ...
    I was getting ready to run for my life when the back door creaked open, a hand shot out, grabbed me firmly and pulled me inside. Then the door slammed shut behind me.
    ‘Help,’ I croaked weakly, as I reached for my phone and struggled to get my bearings in the warm, dark room.
    Then I heard a familiar voice.
    ‘Sorry, Eva, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s only me.’
    ‘Kate?’
    ‘Who else were you expecting? The Wizard of Oz?’
    What kind of stupid game was she playing?
    Suddenly I felt cross.
    ‘I’d say I’m glad to see you, except I can’t actually see you,’ I said sharply. ‘Why is it so dark in here?’
    ‘Sorry, is this better?’
    I heard a click and a small light came on. Itstill wasn’t bright, but at least I could see Kate standing in the shadowy darkness in the corner of the room.
    She hadn’t changed all that much, but she had a weird expression on her face – kind of scared and defiant at the same time.
    I reached for the curtains, hoping to brighten the place and make things more normal, but in a few steps, Kate had crossed the room, and pulled my hand away.
    ‘Don’t do that,’ she said. ‘Never, ever do that.’
    Suddenly it was as if we had slipped a whole year back in time. It was like we were at the beginning of last summer again, and Kate was once more the weird girl I needed to get away from.
    I took a step towards the door, and was starting to mumble an excuse for leaving, but Kate followed me. She put her arms around me and hugged me like she never wanted to let go.
    ‘Thanks for coming, Eva,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’

Chapter Four
    W hen Kate finally released me, I looked at her for a long time. I felt dizzy, as all kinds of emotions rattled around my brain. I was confused, half-scared and angry, but still, the longer I stared at Kate, the more I began to feel sorry for her. The defiant look had faded from her face and she just looked sad.
    ‘You’re supposed to be in Cork,’ I said in the end.
    ‘Well, clearly I’m not.’
    ‘So when did you come back?’
    ‘I didn’t come back.’
    ‘So am I looking at your ghost, or your evil twin?’
    As I said the words, I began to wonder if this really was Kate’s evil twin. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see a single trace of the happy girl I’d known at the end of last summer.
    She ignored my question.
    ‘I didn’t come back from Cork, because I never went there in the first place.’
    ‘But Lily said—’
    ‘I know what she said. But she was wrong.’
    ‘And Martha?’
    ‘Martha’s in hospital. She’s been there for two weeks now.’
    I still didn’t get it. ‘If Martha’s in hospital and you never went to Cork, where exactly have you been for the past two weeks?’
    ‘Here.’
    ‘You’ve been living here for the past two weeks?’
    She nodded.
    ‘All on your own?’
    She nodded again. I knew she was tellingthe truth, even though this truth was almost impossible for me to understand. If my mum and dad are going to leave me on my own for