Desert Crossing Read Online Free PDF Page B

not great here,” Beth said. “Use the portable in the bedroom.”
    â€œI have a phone card,” I said quickly.
    She glanced at me. “Don’t worry about it.”
    The spare bedroom was a tiny room with a double bed that took up almost all the floor space. The walls were painted dark blue, and one large bare window framed the desert night. It would be like sleeping up in the sky. Yesterday, I would have liked that, the floating freedom of it. Now I wasn’t so sure.
    â€œIf you get cold,” Beth said from the doorway, “there’s an extra blanket under the bed.”
    I pushed the door partway closed while I changed. The bracelet clinked when my jacket hit the floor. I fished it out, dangling it in the light. But then I heard Kit in the hallway, so I quickly slipped it into the pocket of my backpack and dug out the phone card instead.
    Would Jamie have talked to our mom by now? From the police station? I shuddered, thinking of him in a cell. Alone. I wondered what he’d told her. At home, whenever he ratted on me for something, he’d give up everything, each incriminating detail doled out with perfect timing, to maximize her outrage. I usually did the same thing to him. But this was different. Whatever it was, we were in it together. I thought of when we were little, when we broke the gutter jumping off the garage roof, or when we stuck a deck of playing cards in the fan to make confetti. I was pretty sure he’d tell our mom a short version, just enough for her to make sense of it.
    But who could really make sense of it?
    I cracked the window, and a cold shaft of air blew over me. Shivering, I crawled under the covers and lifted the phone from its cradle next to the bed, punching in numbers, following the string of tinny instructions.
    â€œHello?” She picked up on the first ring.
    I pulled the phone under the blanket and pressed it against my face. “Mom?”
    â€œLucy! Lucy.”
    Her voice was ragged with worry. As soon as I heard it, I could feel years collapsing. I tried to talk, but the words caught in my throat. “Mom…”
    â€œOh, honey.”
    I could see the exact look on her face, the crumpling mix of love and fear that always made me feel so much worse than whatever it was I’d done to myself. I couldn’t stand it.
    I scrunched my eyes shut and tried to make my voice normal. “It’s okay, Mom. Everything’s okay.”
    â€œLucy,” she said. “I can’t believe this happened!”
    â€œI know. But don’t worry. We’re all fine.”
    â€œHow’s Jamie? I just talked to him and he seemed … He didn’t sound like himself. And where are you? Some stranger’s house? I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all.”
    I thought about Beth. “It’s safe,” I said. “The police know her. She lives near the highway and it was the first house we came to, where we went after the accident. She’s … she’s trying to help us.”
    I heard the sound of tires in the yard, and an orange light danced across the wall of the room. The dogs started barking again. There were voices, Beth’s and someone else’s, low and blending.
    â€œWhat’s that?” my mom asked sharply. “What’s that noise?”
    â€œThe tow truck,” I said. “They’re taking our car.”
    My mom sighed. “I just can’t believe you’re down there on your own. You shouldn’t be by yourselves, dealing with this.” She was quiet for a minute, then her voice was firm. “I’ll call your father. He’ll come get you. He just has to.”
    I didn’t say anything. I knew that wouldn’t happen.
    â€œLucy, have you talked to him?”
    â€œNo, but I will, Mom.”
    â€œOkay, honey. Well, it’s late. You should go to sleep. You must be exhausted.”
    â€œYeah.” I didn’t want to hang up.