Careful What You Wish For Read Online Free PDF Page A

with her two sisters when they were young. Even at thirteen, Mary Ellen looked by far the most interesting of the sisters.
    Most of the photos were recent, though. Marcus holding up the bike trophy he’d won the year before. The next was one of Marcus with Paul on his shoulders at the beach, both of them grinning wildly. Ruth was in the background staring with admiration at them both. She could remember that day. It was weird now to consider how she used to think that Marcus was wonderful and Paul utterly cute.
    Then there was a collection of Paul shots: looking sweet playing in the sandpit at kindergarten; another taken on the first day of school. All in all, there were at least a dozen family snaps featured on the wall, but only one of Ruth by herself. It was a small black-and-white photo at the edge of the collection.
    She got up, took the photograph off the wall and lay down on the floor in front of the heater, staring hard at herself. She liked this photo. The confident, easy way she was staring into the camera reminded her that things hadn’t always been so bad. Someone, she couldn’t remember who, had caught her standing against the back fence, squinting into the camera. Rodney was poking out from under her arm as if he knew what was going on and didn’t particularly approve. Ruth smiled. Rodney had often looked like that. Annoyed and disapproving.
    The words Ruth and Rod were written in pencil underneath with one of her mother’s big exclamation marks at the end. Ruth sighed heavily. Trust her mother to get his name wrong. Rodney was never Rod! Never in a million years
    * * *
    Ruth remembered so clearly the day that she’d brought Rodney home. While Mary Ellen chatted with her mum in the kitchen, Ruth had slipped past them, past her little brother practising handstands and up to her room.
    The rat was lying right at the bottom of her backpack under her night things. She didn’t want to risk Marcus or Paul or even her parents catching sight of him until she had a chance to at least get a feel for him in her room.
    Ruth shut her bedroom door behind her and looked around. Where would be the best place? She unpacked her pyjamas and toothbrush, her spare undies and her books. She pulled Rodney out of her bag, marvelling at him all over again. She loved his sharp little claws, long pointed nose and spiky fur now. On her bed seemed wrong somehow. What about on the little rickety table near her bed? But there was hardly room for her lamp and her book. No room for a large rat. There was the bottom drawer of the dresser. She could pull him out whenever she wanted to play. But that didn’t feel right either. Putting him away wouldn’t do. He was no ordinary toy.
    In the end, she put him on top of the bookshelf, next to a pretty vase that Mary Ellen had given her the year before. He looked comfortable sitting there with his tail hanging over the edge.
    She sat on her bed and stared up. He looked so wise and humorous. It was going to be such fun waking up every morning and having him up there peering down at her. She lay back with her hands behind her head and wriggled her toes with pleasure. He looked as if he’d been there forever.
    ‘Ruth!’
    ‘Coming.’
    Ruth smiled at the rat and gave a wave as she went out the door. She had the odd feeling that he inclined his head as she walked out, but knew that she was most probably imagining things.
    For the rest of the day, Ruth had felt a rush of happiness whenever she thought of the rat waiting for her in her room. And that feeling continued into the next day and then the next. She felt truly and utterly lucky .
    Even when Mary Ellen had got so desperately sick Ruth knew that it was just a matter of time before she got better. Miracles happened all the time, didn’t they? There were a million stories on television about people beating cancer . Those pessimistic doctors didn’t know what they were talking about. That was why Rodney was there. He was special and he would