Blood and Sympathy Read Online Free PDF Page B

don't like her very much. Even though we're not
twins, we look a lot alike, and people often assume we are. Don't let anybody
kid you, Braden. It's all about what people think. Especially in a small town. J
    If you're in Hensteeth
for your eighteenth birthday, I'll bake you a cake.
    I don't ice skate. Seems
sad that I've lived by Devil's Fork Lake my whole life and not once have I been
on it when it was frozen. I'm not a fan of cold weather, and I have an
irrational fear of falling through the ice and not being able to get to the
surface. Actually, it's a recurring nightmare of mine.
    I don't have any
tattoos, either. I want one, but my dad would freak out if I went through with
it. What are you going to get?
    I will see if I can
find a picture to send you.
    Later,
    Claire
    It was almost dinnertime when I finished my note
to Braden, so I went downstairs to see if Olivia needed my help in the kitchen.
We took turns making dinner. Even Dad helped sometimes, when he was home.
    I hummed a tune as I set the table. When the room
around me fell silent, I stopped what I was doing and frowned at Olivia and Dad,
who were both staring at me. "Why are you two looking at me like
that?"
    Dad shrugged with a bemused look on his face as he
added sugar to his coffee and slowly stirred. "Why are you in such a good
mood this evening?"
    "What makes you think I'm in a good mood? I'm
still grounded. Maybe I'm just going bonkers from being held captive against my
will."
    Olivia snorted. "Like being grounded has ever
kept you from doing what you wanted to do."
    "Says someone who's never been a prisoner in
her own home," I muttered. She wasn't going to spoil my mood. It's not
like I still didn't do whatever I wanted, I just had to learn how to be
stealthier about it. Lucky for me, after spending most of my teen years in
trouble for one thing or another, I'd learned to be resourceful. I knew how to
sneak out of the house without getting caught. That brought another grin to my
face as I finished what I was doing.
    "Perhaps you could learn a few things from
your sister, no?" His spoon clanked noisily against the glass saucer.
    "Oh, I've learned more than a few things from
Olivia." Like how not to have fun. I painted on my most saccharine
smile for their benefit. I inhaled deeply and moved to steer the subject in
another direction. "Dinner sure smells delicious tonight, Liv."
    Flattery to Olivia was like crack to a junkie. She
ate that shit right up. "Thanks. I tried a new recipe."
    If there was one morally acceptable thing I was
better at than my sister, it was cooking. Everything she made tended to taste
the same. We'd never starve to death with her around, but eating would never be
more than a simple intake of food as long as she did the cooking. Me? I could sauté
and season up an old shoe and people would think they were eating the finest
steak.
    "Olivia tells me Jeb stopped by today with a letter
from his nephew," Dad asked while spearing a piece of pot roast off the
serving platter. "I'm happy to see you're finally doing something
productive with your time for a change."
    Of all the things my dad could be proud of me for,
he'd decided that my writing to a convict in juvie was something he was happy
I'd decided to do. Most likely because I was helping out dear, sweet Olivia.
    "We're just pen pals, Dad."
    "Yes, of course. I commend you for doing such
a selfless deed. However, writing to a boy in prison--especially one who
committed such a horrible crime--is one thing. I certainly wouldn't condone
anything more than that between the two of you."
    I leaned back against my chair and looked at him
with wide eyes. "Oh, I see. Didn't you stand up in front of the church a
few weeks ago touting forgiveness and giving people the benefit of the doubt?
You know--good versus evil and all that?"
    I felt my heartbeat drumming in my ears. He was
pissing me off with his double standards. I hated the way he talked out the side
of his mouth.
    "Oh, Claire, don't be so