Chapter 8 (i)

The rattling of my doorknob stopped me just shy of placing the earbuds in my ears and cranking up the volume. Quick as I could, I stashed the iPod back into its hiding place then reached for the French workbook that lay on my nightstand. If it was Mother, she was usually content to leave me to my schoolwork. Sometimes it was even enough to stay her hand when she was in an otherwise foul mood.

It was Matt. He stuck his head in, giving only the shortest of cursory glances before his eyes landed on me. “Mom said you need to get the door.”

It was all I could do to keep the look of incredulity from my face. Last I’d seen her, she was downstairs and in a better position to see who’d stopped by. The realisation left me considering that it may have been someone she was actively avoiding. In such a circumstance, she would never expose Matt to such unscrupulous individuals, but I was expendable. There was no harm in putting me on the front lines to clear