Escort For The Witch - стр. 17
My heart sank, and I swear I heard it land right there. Well, that’s it! She's going to pounce on me and tear me to shreds, slowly and painfully, drenching the interior of my beloved car with blood.
“And what did he say?” I even tried to feign confusion. It didn’t come out very well, but it seemed Sabrina didn’t notice.
“He’s right. Jack would have done better than me”.
I nearly choked but managed to regain composure and refrain from blurting out something I would certainly regret later.
“You didn’t mention what it was that Jack would handle better?” I said, trying to suppress my excitement and gripping the steering wheel even tighter.
“No, but he added the word ‘definitely,’” Sabrina said timidly and cast a curious glance at me.
Well, now Eric will definitely get it. How drunk do you have to be to say something like that to your sister, and while looking her straight in the eyes? I glanced at Sabrina. She was contemplating the passing scenery outside the window, paying me no attention whatsoever.
“And what does that mean?” she asked without turning around.
“I have no idea.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Why would I lie?”
“He said you know the truth,” the girl turned to stare at me angrily.
“What truth?"
“Jack, could you just answer my question?”
“Sabi, this interrogation won’t lead to anything. I have no idea what nonsense your drunken brother was spouting.”
“What do you know? What truth is he talking about?” the girl persisted with her questioning.
What are you going to do? Did I really sin so much in my past life? Why am I being punished like this? Damn this girl!
“Don’t look at me like that, you’ll get a burn,” the girl turned to stare out the window again.
“So, the truth,” I muttered thoughtfully, “Alright. Let’s just try to avoid throwing scenes, okay? The truth, well, the truth is that Eric and I flushed Flippy down the toilet.”
‘Oh, that’s something I shouldn’t have said ’, I thought, feeling Sabrina’s eyes widen in horror. She positively didn’t expect anything of the sort.
“Yes, we did it,” I couldn’t stop myself. It was all too funny giving her the details of the “unfortunate incident”. That had taken place in our childhood. “But don’t get mad, alright? I’m still driving. We didn’t realize what we were doing, we were seven years old, and saving the life of a goldfish seemed like a matter of honor back then. After some brief deliberation, we decided that at the end of the day, all sewage pipes must lead out into the ocean; sooner or later Flippy would be home. Yes, we were wrong. Who hasn’t made mistakes? What can I do about it now?” It was done, and we dreaded Sabrina finding out.
Then Grandpa came to our rescue and said he had released the fish into the river because the fish tank had been to small a home for it. Sabrina believed Grandpa and, after a while, stopped mourning and scolding us. Poor Flippy was forgotten.
And as a thank you to grandpa, Eric and I had behaved like the most diligent and obedient kids in the world for two whole days.
“Hey!” I exclaimed as Sabrina gave me a hefty slap on the back of my head.
“God, why are you so furious?!”
Seemingly offended by my words and the “truth” she had heard, she turned away with a look of indignation on her beautiful face, a righteous woman in grief.