school. I’d see her every once in a
while, working as a waitress in one of the coffee shops on campus,
or shopping in the bookstore. I learned that it was best to ignore
her. If I ignored her enough, she’d get the hint and leave.
But here she was, in the flesh, rain
streaming down her face. Her blond hair was shorter, wet through,
darker than I remembered. She was a skinny thing, not the radiant
beauty I remember from my childhood.
I was frozen at the door, unsure of what to
do. She knew better than to come calling, that was strictly
forbidden. We’d laid those ground rules years before, and she’d
always listened. I was saved by the phone ringing. I glared at her
and motioned for her to stay right where she was. Carol Ann was not
invited into my house. Not after what she did all those years ago.
It had taken me forever to get over that.
The phone kept trilling, so I turned and went
to the marble side table in the foyer, the one that held the old
fashioned rotary-dial. I picked it up, almost carelessly. It was
Mama’s nurse at the Home. I listened. Felt the floor rushing up to
meet me. Everything went dark after that.
***
When I woke, the sun was streaming in the
kitchen window. Somehow I’d gotten myself to a chair. There was
coffee brewing, the rich scent wafting to my nose. Carol Ann stood
at the counter, a yellow cup in her hands. She took a deep drink,
then smiled at me.
“Hey, stranger.” Her voice was soft, that
semi-foreign lilt more pronounced, like she’d been living overseas
lately.
“Hey, yourself,” I replied. “You’re not
supposed to be here.”
“You needed me.” She’d shrugged, a lock of
lank blond falling across her forehead. “I’m sorry about your Mama.
She was a good woman.”
I had a vision of Mama then, standing in the
same spot, her hair in curlers, rushing to finish the preparations
for a garden club meeting, stopping to lean back and take a sip of
hot, sweet tea and smiling to herself because it was perfect. She
was perfect. Mama was always perfection personified. Not flawed and
messy like me. My heart hurt.
I forced myself to do the right thing. To do
what needed to be done. My heart broke a little, and my head swam
when I said, “Carol Ann, you need to leave. I don’t need you. I
never did.”
She looked down at the floor, then met my
eyes. Tear glistened in the corners, making the cornflower blue
look like a wax crayon. “C’mon, Lily. We’re blood sisters, you and
I. We’re a physical part of each other. How can you say you don’t
need a part of yourself? The best part of yourself? I make you
strong.”
“ No!” I screamed at her, all patience gone.
“You are not a part of me. You aren’t…”
A fury I hadn’t felt in years bubbled through
my chest. There was only one way to get through to her. I grabbed
the porcelain mug from her hand, smashed it on the counter, and
swiped it a gleaming shard across her perfect white throat. She
fell in a heap, blood everywhere.
As I stood over her, watching her hair turn
strawberry, I felt a tug and looked down at my leg. Carol Ann was
trying to grab a hold of my foot. I kicked her instead, hard, in
the ribs. She stopped moving then.
***
The thought is fleeting. What have I
done?
I’ve just killed Carol Ann. She was never
sweet, never innocent. She was a leech, an albatross around my
neck. I didn’t need her. Carol Ann needed me. That’s what Doctor
Halloway always told me. That’s what they said in the hospital,
too. The white place, so pristine, so calm. They told me I’d know
when the time was right to get rid of Carol Ann once and for all.
Mama would be so proud. She knew I didn’t need Carol Ann, knew I
was strong enough to live on my own. She always believed in me. I
miss her.
The blood drips… drips… drips… from my arm. I
feel lighter already.
Novel Excerpts
ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All
rights reserved.
“No. Please
while, working as a waitress in one of the coffee shops on campus,
or shopping in the bookstore. I learned that it was best to ignore
her. If I ignored her enough, she’d get the hint and leave.
But here she was, in the flesh, rain
streaming down her face. Her blond hair was shorter, wet through,
darker than I remembered. She was a skinny thing, not the radiant
beauty I remember from my childhood.
I was frozen at the door, unsure of what to
do. She knew better than to come calling, that was strictly
forbidden. We’d laid those ground rules years before, and she’d
always listened. I was saved by the phone ringing. I glared at her
and motioned for her to stay right where she was. Carol Ann was not
invited into my house. Not after what she did all those years ago.
It had taken me forever to get over that.
The phone kept trilling, so I turned and went
to the marble side table in the foyer, the one that held the old
fashioned rotary-dial. I picked it up, almost carelessly. It was
Mama’s nurse at the Home. I listened. Felt the floor rushing up to
meet me. Everything went dark after that.
***
When I woke, the sun was streaming in the
kitchen window. Somehow I’d gotten myself to a chair. There was
coffee brewing, the rich scent wafting to my nose. Carol Ann stood
at the counter, a yellow cup in her hands. She took a deep drink,
then smiled at me.
“Hey, stranger.” Her voice was soft, that
semi-foreign lilt more pronounced, like she’d been living overseas
lately.
“Hey, yourself,” I replied. “You’re not
supposed to be here.”
“You needed me.” She’d shrugged, a lock of
lank blond falling across her forehead. “I’m sorry about your Mama.
She was a good woman.”
I had a vision of Mama then, standing in the
same spot, her hair in curlers, rushing to finish the preparations
for a garden club meeting, stopping to lean back and take a sip of
hot, sweet tea and smiling to herself because it was perfect. She
was perfect. Mama was always perfection personified. Not flawed and
messy like me. My heart hurt.
I forced myself to do the right thing. To do
what needed to be done. My heart broke a little, and my head swam
when I said, “Carol Ann, you need to leave. I don’t need you. I
never did.”
She looked down at the floor, then met my
eyes. Tear glistened in the corners, making the cornflower blue
look like a wax crayon. “C’mon, Lily. We’re blood sisters, you and
I. We’re a physical part of each other. How can you say you don’t
need a part of yourself? The best part of yourself? I make you
strong.”
“ No!” I screamed at her, all patience gone.
“You are not a part of me. You aren’t…”
A fury I hadn’t felt in years bubbled through
my chest. There was only one way to get through to her. I grabbed
the porcelain mug from her hand, smashed it on the counter, and
swiped it a gleaming shard across her perfect white throat. She
fell in a heap, blood everywhere.
As I stood over her, watching her hair turn
strawberry, I felt a tug and looked down at my leg. Carol Ann was
trying to grab a hold of my foot. I kicked her instead, hard, in
the ribs. She stopped moving then.
***
The thought is fleeting. What have I
done?
I’ve just killed Carol Ann. She was never
sweet, never innocent. She was a leech, an albatross around my
neck. I didn’t need her. Carol Ann needed me. That’s what Doctor
Halloway always told me. That’s what they said in the hospital,
too. The white place, so pristine, so calm. They told me I’d know
when the time was right to get rid of Carol Ann once and for all.
Mama would be so proud. She knew I didn’t need Carol Ann, knew I
was strong enough to live on my own. She always believed in me. I
miss her.
The blood drips… drips… drips… from my arm. I
feel lighter already.
Novel Excerpts
ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All
rights reserved.
“No. Please
Similar Books
