| OCR Text |
Show house/ 378 "That's one thing we c a n ' t do! I've been close enough to see how dangerous i t is„ It can destroy you. There's probably a l o t you don't know..." "I remember a time when I was two or three - he was s t i l l around, and my mother worked n i g h t s . He wanted me to kiss him good night and I said no, not u n t i l I asked her. He'd spank me and i f I s t i l l wouldn't k i s s him, he'd spank me again. That went on a l l night, I guess. My s i s t e rs remember." I touched h i s shoulder. I wanted to cry. Brian took a breath. "He's a bastard." "Brian... maybe you don't know the whole story. He probably had some reason, maybe h i s parents used to beat him.. . " I was thinking of the r a p i s t . Some reason, there has to be some reason. Things don't happen without a reason. People don't just act out l i k e t h a t . Something happens to warp them from t h e i r good, natural s t a t e . There i s no original sin. Not for anyone. "Reason? What reason? He was an animal. The only thing that keeps me a l i v e i s knowing I ' l l be different from him. Otherwise my l i f e is worthless - p r e t t y worthless anyway. " "Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" My voice was sharp, schoolteacherish. Even I was surprised. I was normally too absorbed in being agreeable and stupid to speak my mind. Now Brian's face hardened into silence as he stared at the road. "Look," I f i n a l l y said. "By t h i s s o c i e t y ' s standards, I'm illegitimate too. There's something I have to t e l l you, but I don't know where to b e g i n . . ." 1 k |
