ARRvol34 master reduced - Flipbook - Page 39
Lucy shook her head.
“She’s upset with me,” Lucy explained slowly. “Mad. She… she said
I was being mean.”
“Why’d she say that?”
“I can see the bad in people. Mommy thinks I should be kind, but I
see bad. I see bad in them all.”
At Lucy’s words, he felt his chest tighten. It was nonsense. He
shouldn’t be afraid. He was about to get exactly what he wanted—
but even still, he had to ask.
“Do you see bad in me?”
Lucy giggled, shaking her head as if surprised by his audacity. Her
entire face seemed to light up with her smile.
“What do you think? I invited you in, didn’t I?”
Just like that, he felt the weight drop from his chest. She invited
him in, she trusted him. Just like the others, she saw the good in
him, even when nobody else ever could.
“Well, it’s too bad your Mommy’s upset with you,” he said sympathetically. “I think you’re really nice. And you talk real smart for a
five-year-old. Is she going to be gone for long?”
Lucy shrugged. “She’s just going out for groceries. I’m going to
make the soup, okay?”
He watched her kneel on the floor and reach into the cabinet. She
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear casually. He could smell her,
almost. He liked the way they smelled. Lucy withdrew a little red
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