Dark Season: The Complete Third Series (All 8 books) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Amy Cross
unusual about me, even though he knows the truth. I can see from the way he and his wife Ruth look at me that they know I'm not right. I guess they wanted to foster a nice, normal girl who'd grow up to be a credit to their fine parenting skills. Instead, I'm going bad, I'm going wrong. It's not their fault, but they must be disappointed.
"I saw you had some friends with you when you came home," Ruth says, forcing an awkward smile. "Are you finally starting to fit in a little better?"
Unable to speak because of the braces in my mouth, I shrug. I'm distracted by the feeling of Donna's spit in my ear. I want to run to the bathroom and clean it out, but she told me I have to wait until midnight. I know there's no way she'd find out if I did it sooner, but then again... you never know. Best not to take a risk.
"I told you it'd be okay," Evan adds. "Trust me, I remember what it was like to be your age, and the whole world seemed to be against me. But things have a way of working out. You'll see".
I smile. It's not that I want to disappoint Evan and Ruth. I've grown to like them over the years, and I've tried to 'fit in' at school. I wish I could magically replace myself with some perfect, perky teenage girl who's make them proud. Instead, I just spend day after day making them wonder what they did wrong when they raised me. There's something deeply, deeply wrong with me, and I have no idea how to deal with it. Some of the symptoms, like my strange teeth, are visible, but most are in my head. I just feel totally, completely different to these people, almost as if I'm not from the same species. Trying to fit in, to conform to what my foster parents want, almost drove me crazy. I've had to just accept that this is how things are going to be for now.
And then there are the ghosts.
The ghosts started coming a few weeks ago. Just a couple of first, loitering in the street outside the house. Then I noticed more and more of them, and now they're everywhere. They don't come until late at night, and they seem to be unable to come inside. They just stand at the window, watching me. They're too fuzzy to make out properly, so all I can see are shimmering white outlines. I know they're definitely looking at me, though, and it's as if they're waiting for me to do something, or say something, or... I wish someone else could see them, because then I'd know that they're not inside my head. To be honest, I think I'm starting to lose my mind.
"Just three more weeks," Ruth says. "Are you looking forward to having your braces out?"
"Let's not get carried away," Evan adds, smiling at me. "Abby, you understand that you might need the braces for a little longer, don't you?"
I nod. I can still feel those two strange teeth; if anything, they've become more pronounced since the braces were fitted. It's kind of pathetic how desperately Evan and Ruth are clinging to the idea that somehow everything's going to become more normal once these braces are off. I guess this is their last, best hope to 'fix' me. They ignore all my emotional and psychological problems and focus on these weird teeth; they get metal bars fitted in my mouth, hoping to force the anomaly straight. It won't work, but at least they're trying. I just wonder what they'll do when they have to accept it hasn't worked.
"So we were thinking," Evan says eventually, "maybe when your braces are done, we could all take a little family holiday somewhere nice? Just a small road trip. How do you fancy California for a week?"
I look over at him. I have no particular interest in California, and I know a 'road trip' wouldn't solve anything, but I want to make him happy so I smile and nod.
"See?" he says to Ruth. "We can all go as a family".
"I might have to stay behind for work," she says, smiling falsely at me. "We'll see. But you two should definitely go".
"Well, yeah," Evan replies, clearly a little disappointed. I get the feeling that they've been talking about this between themselves for a
"I saw you had some friends with you when you came home," Ruth says, forcing an awkward smile. "Are you finally starting to fit in a little better?"
Unable to speak because of the braces in my mouth, I shrug. I'm distracted by the feeling of Donna's spit in my ear. I want to run to the bathroom and clean it out, but she told me I have to wait until midnight. I know there's no way she'd find out if I did it sooner, but then again... you never know. Best not to take a risk.
"I told you it'd be okay," Evan adds. "Trust me, I remember what it was like to be your age, and the whole world seemed to be against me. But things have a way of working out. You'll see".
I smile. It's not that I want to disappoint Evan and Ruth. I've grown to like them over the years, and I've tried to 'fit in' at school. I wish I could magically replace myself with some perfect, perky teenage girl who's make them proud. Instead, I just spend day after day making them wonder what they did wrong when they raised me. There's something deeply, deeply wrong with me, and I have no idea how to deal with it. Some of the symptoms, like my strange teeth, are visible, but most are in my head. I just feel totally, completely different to these people, almost as if I'm not from the same species. Trying to fit in, to conform to what my foster parents want, almost drove me crazy. I've had to just accept that this is how things are going to be for now.
And then there are the ghosts.
The ghosts started coming a few weeks ago. Just a couple of first, loitering in the street outside the house. Then I noticed more and more of them, and now they're everywhere. They don't come until late at night, and they seem to be unable to come inside. They just stand at the window, watching me. They're too fuzzy to make out properly, so all I can see are shimmering white outlines. I know they're definitely looking at me, though, and it's as if they're waiting for me to do something, or say something, or... I wish someone else could see them, because then I'd know that they're not inside my head. To be honest, I think I'm starting to lose my mind.
"Just three more weeks," Ruth says. "Are you looking forward to having your braces out?"
"Let's not get carried away," Evan adds, smiling at me. "Abby, you understand that you might need the braces for a little longer, don't you?"
I nod. I can still feel those two strange teeth; if anything, they've become more pronounced since the braces were fitted. It's kind of pathetic how desperately Evan and Ruth are clinging to the idea that somehow everything's going to become more normal once these braces are off. I guess this is their last, best hope to 'fix' me. They ignore all my emotional and psychological problems and focus on these weird teeth; they get metal bars fitted in my mouth, hoping to force the anomaly straight. It won't work, but at least they're trying. I just wonder what they'll do when they have to accept it hasn't worked.
"So we were thinking," Evan says eventually, "maybe when your braces are done, we could all take a little family holiday somewhere nice? Just a small road trip. How do you fancy California for a week?"
I look over at him. I have no particular interest in California, and I know a 'road trip' wouldn't solve anything, but I want to make him happy so I smile and nod.
"See?" he says to Ruth. "We can all go as a family".
"I might have to stay behind for work," she says, smiling falsely at me. "We'll see. But you two should definitely go".
"Well, yeah," Evan replies, clearly a little disappointed. I get the feeling that they've been talking about this between themselves for a
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