Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

the front door and stood there, making sure Daddy put on his scarf.
    “It’s nippy tonight,” she told him.
    He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll beback soon,” he said. “I can’t wait to tell your mother how well you’re taking care of us, Cassie. She’ll be very pleased.”
    Cassie nodded, flashed a look of satisfaction my way, and watched Daddy leave. For a few moments, she just stood there at the door. This time, when she turned around, she looked quite different. She looked as if she had aged years. She pulled her shoulders back and glared at me.
    “What are you doing standing there like that? Did you finish cleaning off the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then go do your homework, and don’t spend any time on the phone gossiping.”
    “I don’t gossip on the phone. Who would I talk to now, anyway?”
    “Never mind what you do and don’t do, Semantha. Just go do what you should do. Go.”
    Why was she behaving like that? I wondered, but I didn’t argue. I shrugged and went up to my room. I didn’t need her to tell me to do my homework. She knew that. Just for spite, I procrastinated, fiddling with my hair, thinking about makeup, and doing my nails. Finally, realizing I was only spiting myself, I started my schoolwork. I heard her come upstairs, but I didn’t hear her going to her room, so I went to the door and looked out. I saw her going into Mother and Daddy’s bedroom. Before I could call to her, she closed the door.
    What was she doing now? I wondered. I stood there in my doorway, waiting and waiting. Mycuriosity aroused, I walked down the hallway to our parents’ bedroom. I stood for a moment listening. It sounded as if Cassie was talking. Was she on the phone? Was she talking to Daddy at the hospital? Had she gone in there to prevent me from hearing the conversation? I slowly reached for the doorknob, but my fingers trembled. She would hate my bursting in on her. Instead, I knocked. Her talking stopped. I knocked again.
    “Cassie?”
    She didn’t respond, but after a few moments, she pulled the door open.
    “What now, Semantha?”
    “I … why are you in here?”
    “What are you doing, following me around the house?”
    “No. I heard you come up, and I was waiting for you and saw you go in here.”
    Looking past her, I saw that the bed was unmade. She caught my gaze and shook her head.
    “If you must know every little thing, Semantha, I was in here fixing up the bedroom for Daddy. Obviously, having to take Mother to the doctor and then the hospital, he had no opportunity to get things organized. I’m about to make the bed now. Are you satisfied?”
    “I just wondered. Is there anything I can do?”
    “Yes, go back to your room, finish your homework, and prepare for bed. I’ll come in to say good night.”
    “What?” What did she mean, she would come in to say good night?

    “To calm you down, Semantha.”
    “But I thought we’d wait up for Daddy.”
    “Who knows how long he’ll be? If he comes back soon, we’ll see him.”
    “He said he wouldn’t be there long.”
    She stared at me.
    “He did!”
    “He’s only trying to avoid telling us how serious things are.”
    “What do you mean? How serious are they?”
    “Serious. The doctor put her in the hospital, didn’t he? Now, go back to your room and let me finish up. I’d like to get to my homework, too.”
    She stepped back and closed the door. The trembling I had felt in my fingers now traveled down my spine. For a moment, I thought I couldn’t breathe. I returned to my room, but I just sat on my bed thinking. How come I hadn’t realized Daddy was keeping things from us? How serious was it? Could I call the hospital? Again, I wondered why Cassie could see and understand so much more than I could in our father’s face. He was my father, too, wasn’t he?
    I hugged myself and rocked on the bed. Feeling so helpless and alone, I started to cry softly, keeping my eye on my door. If Cassie caught me, she would get hysterical. Catching my breath, I went to my window that looked out on the driveway and watched and hoped for the sight of Daddy’s car. It was quiet. Every time I saw a pair of headlights on the road, I held my breath, but none turned into our gateway.
    I spun around when I heard my door open.
    “What are you doing?” Cassie asked.

    “I was just … hoping to see Daddy’s car.”
    “Christmas trees, Semantha. I was just hoping to see Daddy’s car,”