Mercy Read Online Free PDF

say.
Aunt Brown never acts like she likes me, and her house smells, you know it does . . 
.
    â€œShe’s kind of . . .” It was difficult to admit that your own aunt, or great-aunt, or great-great-aunt—could she be that old, really? No, her dad probably got it wrong, he was never good on details—that your own relative creeped you out.
    And anyway, it would just be kind of nice if her dad did it because she’d asked. Mel’s dad drove her to the mall any time she wanted.
    â€œShe’s just kind of . . . weird,” Haley finished lamely.
    â€œShe’s hardly senile, Haley. I hope I’m in such good shape when I get to be her age.”
    â€œWell, she never leaves that house.”
    â€œShe’s eccentric. Every family should have an eccentric aunt. For atmosphere.” Her dad stuffed the rest of his bagel into hismouth. “Good luck on the report. Home for lunch? I’ll take a break from the studio and make us Reubens. Lots and lots of sauerkraut. How’s that?”
    He knew perfectly well that she hated sauerkraut. She threw the paper napkin at him. But she wasn’t quick enough. The kitchen door closed behind him as he headed out to the studio he’d made of what had once been the garage.

    Haley tried holding Sunny’s leash in one hand and her bike’s handlebars with the other. Sunny trotted happily alongside as Haley rode slowly away from town, out toward the country where there were fields with a few cows or maybe a horse.
    Two more years and she’d have her license.
    Aunt Brown lived at the top of a sloping hill, across the street from the cemetery Haley and Mel visited yesterday.
How’s
that
for atmosphere?
Haley thought, leaning her bike against the mailbox.
Old farmhouse out in the country, graveyard right across the road
. All it needed was a thunderstorm and some ominous music.
    Haley tugged at Sunny’s leash and started up the long driveway, muddy and slippery, with only a few patches of gravel left. It would be scary to try to get a car up that, not to mention down. Of course, since Aunt Brown never went anywhere, getting a car in or out of her driveway wasn’t really an issue.
    The porch steps were worn and sagging. Paint had flaked off the walls of the house to show gray, weathered boards. Haley knew her dad had offered to come out and paint it one summer. But Aunt Brown liked it the way it was.
    There was no doorbell. Haley knocked hard.
    Sunny whined a little and pulled at her leash. “What, girl?” The dog was retreating away from the door, toward the porch steps.
    â€œWhat? Is there a rabbit or something?” Sunny kept her eyes imploringly on Haley and dithered, her claws scrabbling at the floorboards.
    â€œWhy have you brought that animal here?”
    Haley’s heart jumped in her chest. She hadn’t heard the door open.
    Aunt Brown was standing in the doorway, looking disapproving. Of course, Haley couldn’t imagine her looking any other way. She wore the same outfit she had worn every time Haley had seen her: the long skirt that nearly brushed the ground, the white blouse (how many did she have in her closet?), the silver locket about the size of a quarter that hung just under her collar, the cardigan that was faded to no true color at all, something between gray and blue and beige.
    â€œOh, hi. You startled me,” she said a little weakly, petting Sunny, who pressed up close against her leg.
    â€œReally? When I knock at a door, I generally expect somebody to open it.”
    â€œOh. Yeah. Of course.” Haley wanted to squirm. “I just—” She had to clear her throat. “Can I ask you a favor, Aunt Brown?”
    â€œLeave the dog outside.” Aunt Brown turned and walked inside, leaving the door open. Haley supposed that was meant as an invitation.
    She looped Sunny’s leash around the porch railing and rubbed the dog’s ears reassuringly