The Rules for Disappearing by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

at home. Not the same here.”
    No kidding. “Mom, you need to get to bed.”
    “I have failed you girls. I can’t even remember the names they gave you.” She puts her head on the table and sobs.
    How many times have we sat in the dark like this? I want to feel sorry for her but I’m tapped out. I run my hand through her messy hair, trying to untangle a few of the knots. If her face didn’t show the damage from all the alcohol, she would be beautiful. The darker hair looks so much better than the fake blond did.
    “It’s Meg and Mary. I’m Meg. Meg Jones. You are Emily Jones.
    Dad is Bill Jones. We’re in Louisiana.” Hearing all of the basic facts of our new life here seems to calm her down just as it did for Teeny this morning. “C’mon, Mom.”
    Mom gets up from the table and I put an arm around her waist.
    She’s leaning against me, and it’s a struggle to get her down the hall.
    She points a finger toward the kitchen as we pass it. “We don’t
    —S
    even have food here. I never would have had an empty refrigerator.”
    —N
    45
    DISNEY/HYPERION 5½ in. x 8¼ in. Page 45
    ELSTON—Rules for DisappearinG_2ND PASS
    “I know, Mom. I’ll go to the store tomorrow. Keep walking,
    we’re almost there.”
    We both stumble into her room. I’m sure Dad’s aware of what’s
    happening, but he doesn’t move or say a word. I should’ve turned the lights on and made him deal with this. Mom snores softly before I even get the covers over her.
    Mom made an appearance this morning, eyes red and puffy, but
    made no mention of our early morning conversation. Dad left an envelope in my room with money for food before he left. I’m sure he didn’t trust Mom with it. Let me add find a way to get to the grocery store before work and do all the shopping to my to-do list. And then again, there’s always pizza.
    I step off the bus in front of school. It’s humiliating to show up your senior year on a school bus. My old friends back home, especially Elle and Laura, would have a field day if they could see me now. As soon as the thought seeps into my brain, I push it back out.
    Just thinking about them makes my stomach hurt. How can I want to go back home more than anything and at the same time never
    want to see my two best friends ever again?
    I can’t think about them right now.
    I join the sea of people wandering through the front doors. I’m so nervous and it’s totally Ethan’s fault. I took extra time with my hair this morning in the hopes that I won’t look like a boy by the end of the day. This goes totally against The Plan, I know. There’s no reason to look cute for a boy you’re desperately trying to ignore.
    S—
    His locker is close to mine, so I peek past the metal door to spy on N—
    him. He’s easy to spot, leaning against the wall near the bathrooms, 46
    DISNEY/HYPERION 5½ in. x 8¼ in. Page 46
    ELSTON—Rules for DisappearinG_2ND PASS
    talking to a small group of people. I grab my books and sneak into my classroom.
    My seat in the back is still available so I slide in. Before I can turn on my music, the guy in front of me turns around. It’s the jock that fought with Ethan. His eye is an array of disgusting colors and almost swollen shut.
    “I didn’t catch your name yesterday, new girl.”
    “Meg Jones.”
    “Well, hey, Meg. I’m Ben Dufrene.”
    I don’t answer, just crank the volume up.
    Ben takes the hint and doesn’t try to talk to me again.
    After sitting through my first two classes, I’ve decided it takes a lot of effort to be a loner. In the other schools, I worked hard to fit in, but a few hours into my second day here and I’m physically exhausted from not making eye contact or initiating conversation.
    Third period begins and my teacher turns the class into a study hall and runs out of the room in tears. Bits of gossip throughout the room suggest that she was having an affair with one of the coaches and he broke it off with her this morning. Classy.
    But it’s fine by