The Vanishings Read Online Free

her back. “I became a Christian tonight, honey,” he said, a name he hadn’t called her since she was a preschooler.
    â€œWhat were you before?” Vicki asked.
    â€œI was a nothing,” he said. “Your mom was a Christian, but I—”
    â€œI knew the Lord,” Vicki’s mother said, “but I haven’t lived for him for years. I was pretty much a nothing myself. But I came back to the Lord tonight. We’re going to start going to church and—”
    â€œChurch?” Vicki said. “I’m not going!”
    â€œOf course you are,” her dad said. “When you get saved, you’ll want to go to church. I can’t wait.”
    â€œI can,” Vicki said. “And when I get saved from what?”
    â€œSaved from hell, saved from your sin. You’ll be safe in the arms of Jesus, and you’ll go to heaven when you die.”
    â€œYou really believe that?” Vicki said.
    â€œYou bet I do,” Mr. Byrne said.
    â€œI’ll tell you what I bet,” Vicki said. “I bet you’ll be drinking and cussing and fighting and losing your job again.”
    Her father’s smile froze. She knew she had made him mad, and she could tell he wanted to hit her. She had spoken what she believed was the truth, but she hadn’t really wanted to hurt him.
    He approached and reached for her, and she flinched. “Don’t you touch me!” she screamed.
    He took her gently by the shoulders and spoke softly. “I’m not going to hit you, Vicki,” he said. “Let me hug you.” She couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had done that. “I know this all has to sound strange to you, but something happened to me tonight. It was as if God spoke to me. I don’t know why I listened or how he got through, but he did. And things are going to change around here.”
    That’ll be the day, Vicki thought.
    â€œI know you have no reason to believe me,hon,” her dad said. “I don’t blame you for not understanding. I’ve never given you any reason to trust me, so I guess I’ll just have to prove it.”
    â€œLet’s let God work on her,” her mom said. “We have enough work to do on ourselves, and he’s going to help us with that too.”
    Vicki finally pulled away from her dad. “Well, I’m glad if this works for you two,” she said, “but don’t expect me to be part of it. It sounds weird. You hear a crazy preacher for five minutes and now all of a sudden you’re holy?”
    â€œWe’re not holy,” her mother said. “We’re just giving ourselves to God.”
    â€œAnd you don’t think that sounds strange?”
    â€œWhen God gets through to you,” her dad said, “you won’t think it sounds so strange.”
    Vicki finally made it to the little bedroom she shared with Jeanni and flopped into bed. She was scared about what was happening with her parents. She decided that if this really kept her dad from drinking and fighting and being a lazy worker, it would be all right. But this much of a change in such a short time was too much to handle.
    Jeanni stirred. “Is that you, Vick?”
    â€œIt’s me.”
    â€œDid you hear what happened tonight?”
    â€œI heard. Go back to sleep.”
    â€œThen you know I’m a Christian now?”
    â€œYou too?”
    â€œYup. I got Jesus in my heart.”
    Vicki sat up. Now her parents were brainwashing her little sister! “Jesus in your heart? What does that mean?”
    â€œWell,” she said, “he’s not really inside me, but I took him into my life. I’m going to go to heaven someday.”
    â€œOh, brother!”
    â€œYou’d better do it too, Vicki. You don’t want to go to hell.”
    â€œYou’d better get one thing straight, Jeanni. Everybody in this trailer park is going to hell, and that includes you and