My Sister's Keeper Read Online Free PDF Page B

wild dreams and unrealistic expectations.
    Some of the furniture reminded me of my grandmother’s and the rest had a Pier One look. I lifted a framed 5x7 photograph off a buffet behind the front door and studied it. It was a portrait of a teenaged Ashleigh with a woman, a man, and a boy—probably her family.
    Over the couch hung a large portrait of her and a cat. It wasn’t bad, but I would have done it differently. As I stepped closer to the portrait, a longhaired tan and black cat stood up on the couch and stretched. It had blended so well with the pillows I hadn’t even noticed it, but when I reached out to stroke it, it vaulted to the floor. I didn’t mind. Normally, I wouldn’t have even offered. It looked back at me and I noticed it had one blue eye and one brown one. As far as cats go, this was a pretty one.
    I drifted to the closed door Ashleigh had vanished through, leaned against the doorframe, and could hear her fiddling around behind it.
    “ Ashleigh?” I called.
    “ Not yet. Just a second.”
    I felt like a teenager playing some kind of childish game. It was delightful, even sensual. I chuckled and sipped the scotch.
    “ Okay,” she called. “You can come in now.”
     

 
     
     
    6
     
     
    I GRIPPED THE DOORKNOB, turned it slowly, and pushed the door open. Except for a pair of white stockings from mid-thigh down, Ashleigh was stark naked. She lay amid a mountain of pillows with her arms thrown back over her head and her legs cocked outward at the knees. Half a dozen lighted candles scented the room and provided the only light. The sight of her took my breath away. She looked like a movie star—Julia Roberts in person, naked.
    My internal control system changed gears and my movements slowed.
    She raised a Polaroid camera high and giggled. “Take my picture, Mr. Photographer.”
    I snickered. “You’re not going to get much of a picture with that thing.”
    “ I don’t care. I just want to see what it looks like.”
    I sipped my drink, set it on the dresser, took the camera, and stepped back. My heart thumped hard in my chest as I framed her in the viewer. She puckered her lips and cut her eyes at me.
    “ Don’t try to look sexy,” I said. “Just relax.” Her face softened and her eyes smiled. “Bring your chin down just a little. That’s it.” I rose on my toes and pressed the shutter release. The camera’s tiny strobe blasted the room with light and a motor pushed the undeveloped photograph out the front and left it hanging there. She pushed the pillows aside and patted the bed next to her. “Now, take one for me. You don’t have to be naked, just get up here with me.”
    “ I don’t think so,” I said, pulling the self-developing photo from the camera and tossing it on the dresser.
    “ Please. The two of us.” She rolled onto her side. “Just this once.”
    I could hardly hear the thunder for the blood rushing in my ears. “Why would you want a photo of me with you like that?” I placed the camera on the dresser and picked up my drink.
    Bounding off the bed, she grabbed the camera and poked a finger into my chest. “What’s the matter, Mr. Photographer? Don’t like having your picture taken?”
    I stumbled backward trying not to spill the drink. “Not like that, I don’t.”
    “ You’re a famous director. This could be important to me.” She poked me again.
    I laughed and juggled the drink. “I’m not a famous director and even if I was—” She pushed again and I got annoyed. My voice sounded dark and evil inside my head. “Ashleigh, stop that! You’re going to spill my drink.”
    She lowered her head and rolled out her bottom lip. In that light, with her eyes sparkling and her beads dangling and her breasts jiggling and my head spinning, she was bewitching; almost irresistible. “I’ll tell you what. Put something on and we’ll take one.”
    Throwing an arm around my neck, she kissed my cheek and at that instant, the camera went off with another blinding