One for the Murphys Read Online Free Page A

what I’m really thinking is that I feel like a bird flapping its wings underwater. I’ve never had anyone wait on me like this or wonder if I need anything. I’d be more comfortable if she would just stop talking to me in that voice like it matters to her whether I’m happy or not.
    Everything is ready, so she calls the boys for dinner and we all sit down at the table.
    Mrs. Murphy begins, “Thank you, dear Lord, for these gifts which we’re about to receive. We thank you for our family, friends, and for the safety of our loved ones.”
    I’m thinking that I can’t thank Him for any of that stuff. And,besides that, I just asked God one simple question at the basketball hoop, and what does He do?
    “. . . We also thank you for bringing Carley into our home. We’re happy that she’s here.”
    “
I’m
not happy she’s here,” Daniel snaps.
    His mom looks at him, and her head drops a little. “That’s a horrible thing to say. Apologize.”
    “Well, you say we aren’t supposed to lie, and
I
want her to go.”
    “Lying is wrong, but I don’t think that God—or me, for that matter—wants you to hurt someone else’s feelings. You can apologize or go to your room.”
    Daniel stands. “Fine.”
    “Daniel.”
    He disappears around the corner, and Mrs. Murphy’s fork lands on her plate. “I’m sorry, Carley. I’ll talk to him later on.”
    My body tingles the same way your foot does when it’s asleep. I want to tell Daniel that I don’t blame him, and that I’m trapped here with him just as he’s trapped here with me. I have to admit, though, that I like thinking about how Mrs. Murphy talked to me earlier like there was no one else in the world.
    Daniel reappears, and Mrs. Murphy looks up at him. I can see the relief in her face. “I’m glad you’ve come back. Are you ready to apologize?”
    “How long is she staying, anyway?” he asks.
    “I really don’t know, Daniel. As long as she needs to.”
    I suddenly need to go.
    “I want her to leave. She isn’t in our family.”
    “Daniel.” I sense panic in her voice. “We’ll discuss this later.”
    “I don’t want to.”
    “Why don’t you sit down and eat something?”
    “I don’t want to.”
    Daniel glares, and I am surprised at how his words cut me. “Just because your mother doesn’t want you doesn’t mean you can take mine.”
    He runs.
    And so do I.

CHAPTER 7

Upward and All Around
    I run out through the garage and into the night. The blast of cold air shocks me. I scramble across the yard, looking back to see if Mrs. Murphy is at the door. She isn’t there. Of course. Why would someone else’s mother care about me?
    I sprint up the hill and around the curve of the road, picking up more speed. Every time my socks hit the concrete, pebbles and sticks shoot pain through my feet. But I won’t allow myself to slow down. “Go, Carley,” I say through clenched teeth. “Run. Run away.”
    My fingernails dig into my palms. Every time I inhale, my chest aches. But with every pain, every sting, every ache… I only run faster.
    Every time my right foot touches the ground, I say, “No.”
    No to crying.
    No to the Murphys.
    No to me.
    My body wants to slow down, but I force my legs to move. To speed up while my “No” becomes one long, continuous word—a pleading. A prayer to please make things different.
    And just as the pain makes my chest feel like it will explode, there’s no pain at all. Just a blur of things. Cold wind. An orchard. The sound of dried leaves tumbling across the ground. My parched mouth.
    I fall. Slowly.
    My palms and face rest on the dirt before I fall to my side, curled up like a caterpillar that’s been touched.
    I think about my own mother. Could it be that she really doesn’t want me anymore? Is she mad about how I messed with Dennis? Made him so mad.
    My mind plays a movie for me. The movie of the night everything tipped upward and all around.
    I had been dribbling my basketball. The faded one with