Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

of alarm. Ronnie had never acted like this before! Usually he was gentle, never pushing things beyond the limits she set. Tonight he was acting--uncontrollable. Something was terribly wrong.
    "Sorry," he muttered. He sat back and began fiddling with the tape deck.
    Loud, throbbing rock music filled the car. Usually, he chose something soft and romantic, but this evening he obviously wasn't in that sort of mood.
    "Ronnie--what is it?" she blurted. "What's wrong?"
    He drummed his fingers nervously against the steering wheel, unable to meet her eyes. "Uh, well, I didn't want to tell you, but it's about the dance. I, uh--"
    Enid felt as if her heart were suspended in midair. "What about the dance?"
    "I'm not sure I'll be able to make it. You see, I might have to work for my dad that night. He's going out of town, and he really needs someone to look after the store."
    "Gee, Ronnie, that's too bad." Enid felt sick.
    Ronnie's father owned a small all-night supermarket, but Enid knew he could have called upon any one of half a dozen people to replace him. Ronnie hadn't even bothered to come up
    with a halfway decent excuse for dumping her. A hot, pricking sensation behind her eyes warned that tears were dangerously close. She fought them. She was determined to hold her head up, not to let him see how much he was hurting her.
    "Yeah, well, I'm sorry about it, Enid, but you know how it goes sometimes. Anyway, I'll let you know for sure one way or another in a couple of days."
    He thinks he's letting me down easy, Enid thought. Easy? This was agony. She'd imagined this scene so many times, but now that it was actually happening, it didn't seem real. Enid shivered, suddenly feeling very cold and alone. She longed for the warmth of Ronnie's arms around her, even if he was acting strangely. She tried once again to make believe it was only her imagination. She wanted to put everything back the way it was, to pretend Ronnie loved her the same as always. In her desperation Enid felt herself begin to weaken as Ronnie's arms tightened around her again, his lips moving against hers with a hard, unrelenting pressure. But something inside her wouldn't let go. No, this isn't the way! She stiffened and pulled back.
    "Ronnie--please. Can't we just sit here and talk for a while?" she pleaded.
    "What about?" He sounded cold and defensive.
    "Uh--" It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him right then and there, to blurt out everything
    that had been building up since the first time she'd gone out with him. But somehow she just couldn't get the words unstuck from her throat. "I don't know, just talk. Heard anything interesting around school lately?"
    "You mean the latest about Ken Matthews and Ms. Dalton?"
    "What about them?" she asked.
    "I can't believe you haven't heard. It's all over school. They're having an affair."
    "I don't believe it!" For a moment Enid forgot her own despair. "Ms. Dalton wouldn't do a thing like that!"
    "How do you know?" Ronnie challenged. "People do crummy things all the time."
    "I just can't believe she would--"
    "Be interested in Ken?" he supplied, sneering. "I would. A lot of people are two-faced, especially when it comes to love."
    Now it was Enid's turn to get angry. "Wait a minute. You don't know anything about it. Who told you all this, anyway? Did anyone actually see them together?"
    The image of refined Ms. Dalton in the arms of some high school jock simply refused to come. Of course, Enid was prejudiced. Ms. Dalton happened to be her favorite teacher. Once when Enid had come to school practically in tears over a problem she was having with her mother, Ms. Dal ton had taken her aside after class and comforted her. Ever since then, she'd found it
    easy to talk to her and had fallen into the habit of stopping by after school when something was bothering her. Ms. Dalton never seemed to mind, and always made time for her. The truth was, Enid didn't want to believe she was capable of anything so awful.
    "Who cares?" Ronnie