LOGINBonnieThe door to my room burst open without a knock.Colette stood in the doorway with her arms spread wide and a grin on her face that could have powered the entire neighborhood. She was wearing pajama pants covered in tiny pizza slices and a t shirt that said I'm not arguing I'm just explaining why I'm right. Her hair was a wild mess of dark curls and she looked like she had just run up the stairs at full speed."I am bored," she announced."You have been here for less than forty eight hours.""Four hours is a lifetime. I need entertainment. I need stimulation. I need you."I looked up from my book. "Me?""You. I need you to talk to me. To tell me things. To be my friend."I set the book down. "I am your friend.""Then prove it. Tell me something about yourself that no one else knows."I thought about it. There were so many things no one else knew. The real things. The dark things. The things I could never tell her."I used to be afraid of the dark," I said."That is not a secret.
MarcellusThe sweet smell of bacon woke me.I opened my eyes and blinked at the ceiling. Sunlight was streaming through the curtains. I had not slept this well in months...maybe years. The house was warm and the sheets were soft and for a moment I forgot about everything. The wedding...the secrets... Bonnie.Then I heard Colette's voice from downstairs."Mum! Can I crack the eggs? Please please please please please."Clarissa laughed. "Yes. You can crack the eggs. But be careful. No shells in the bowl.""I am an expert egg cracker. I have been cracking eggs since I was five. I am basically an egg cracking professional."I smiled. The sound of her voice was like sunlight and It filled the house and It made everything feel lighter.I got out of bed and pulled on a shirt and jeans before walking downstairs. The kitchen was chaos. Flour was on the counter, a bowl of eggs was on the table. Colette was standing at the stove with a spatula in her hand. She was wearing an apron that said K
BonnieEveryone had gone to bed hours ago. My mother was asleep in the master bedroom, Colette and Jude in their various rooms. Actually they really did love their new rooms and Jude smirked and I knew we had clearly outdone yourself since someone that gard to crack could give up so much emotion.I should have been asleep too. But I could not close my eyes. Every time I tried I saw Marcellus. The way he had looked at me in the living room. The way he had said thank you for being you. The way his eyes had lingered on my face like he was memorizing every detail.I heard a soft knock on my door and my heart stopped.I did not move neither did I breathe. The knock came again. Softer this time and almost hesitant."Bonnie."His voice was barely a whisper. I could hear him through the wood. The same voice that had said welcome home hours ago. The same voice that had made my mother cry and Colette smile and Jude almost soften.I should have ignored it. I should have stayed in my bed and pret
BonnieThe front door burst open.I have been standing in the living room with my mother and we had been waiting for what felt like hours. The car had pulled into the driveway in less than what felt like seconds ago. Then I heard the doors open and close, heard footsteps on the path and heard Colette's voice before I saw her face."BONNIE!"The scream was so loud I thought my eardrums would shatter. I clapped my hands over my ears and Jude did the same thing beside her. He was standing in the doorway with his eyes wide and his expression caught somewhere between horror and amusement. Colette was already running toward me.She was beautiful. Her hair was still dark and curly and wild and fell past her shoulders in waves that looked like they had never met a brush. And her eyes were filled and they sparkled with something that looked like extreme joy.She was wearing a bright yellow jacket and jeans that had holes in the knees, her sneakers were scuffed and dirty. She looked like she ha
MarcellusThe parking garage was cold and almost gray.I sat in my car with the engine running and my hands on the steering wheel as the airport terminal loomed in front of me. People streamed in and out of the sliding doors, families hugged and cried and laughed, travelers dragged suitcases behind them and flight attendants walked past in crisp uniforms.I had been sitting here for ten minutes. I could not seem to get out of the car.My children were inside. My twins. The ones I had not seen in over six months or thereabouts. The ones who were coming to live with me. The ones who had no idea what kind of mess they were walking into.I thought about Bonnie. About the way she had looked at me last night, about the way she had said I am going to try, about the way she had sat on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest and her eyes red from crying.I thought about Clarissa. About the wedding, about the life I was suppos
MarcellusAfter dinner, I went to my room and set my briefcase down, loosened my tie and found myself walking to the bottom of the stairs and looked up. Her door was closed but the light was on underneath."Bonnie," I called.No answer."Bonnie, I know you are up there."Still no answer.I climbed the stairs. My footsteps were heavy on the wood then I stopped outside her door. I could hear movement inside. The creak of the bed and the rustle of sheets."Bonnie. Open the door.""I am busy.""Busy doing what?""Homework.""Open the door.""No."The word was flat and painfully final. She had said no to me before. But this was different. This was not her saying no to bending over a desk. This was her saying no to me entirely. To my presence, to my existence in her life.I pressed my palm against the door. The wood was warm and I could almost feel her on
BonnieI couldn't miss my early morning jogging, the pavement was wet beneath my sneakers as I moved.It was five forty-five in the morning and the entire world was still gray and sleepy.My earbuds were in.'I'm slamming the door and I'm killing the lights cos I hate that I miss you tonight'Johnn
BonnieI lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling and just decided to get lost in my thoughts.Twins.He had twins. A boy and a girl...Colette and Jude.Nineteen years old.The same age as I am and he somehow deemed it fit not to let me know?The same age as me, and he had his hands on me, his mouth
MarcellusOne thing I love is when I'm cooking and the entire house smelled like garlic and rosemary.I've been in the kitchen since three o'clock. Normally, I didn't cook; Clarissa was the one who made things from scratch, who knew which spices went with which meats, who could look at a recipe on
Bonnie"BONNIE VOSS. MAYA WILLIAMS."The principal's voice boomed across the office like a thunderclap. I swear the windows rattled and a pencil on his desk actually rolled off and hit the floor.Principal Whitmore was a large man. Not fat just large. The kind of large that came from playing colleg







