If There Be Thorns (Dollanganger 3) - Page 41

"We've been hoping you would come to us with Bart's

secret."

None of it was easy to say. "Well," I began

slowly, hoping to find the right words, "first, you

should know Bart has lots of nightmares in which he

wakes up crying. He pretends too much, such as

hunting big game and normal kid stuff like that, but

when I catch him crawling around sniffing the ground,

then digging up a nasty old bone and carrying it

between his teeth to bury it somewhere else, that's

going too far." I paused and waited for them to say

something. Mom had her head turned as if she was

listening to hear the wind. Dad leaned forward,

watching me intensely.

"Go on, Jory," he urged. "Don't stop now.

We're not blind. We see how Bart is changing." Dreading to tell more, I hung my head and

spoke very low. "I've tried several times to tell you

before. I was afraid then too. You've both been so

worried about Bart that I couldn't speak."

"Please don't hold anything back," Dad said. I looked only at my father, unable to meet my mother's fearful gaze. "The lady next door gives Bart all sorts of expensive gifts. She's given him a St. Bernard puppy he calls Apple, two miniature electric trains along with small village and mountain settings-- the complete works. She's had one huge room of hers turned into a playroom just for him. She

would give me gifts too, but Bart won't let her." Stunned, they turned to one another. Finally

Dad said, "What else?"

I swallowed and heard my odd, husky voice.

This was the worst part, the part that really hurt.

"Yesterday I was in the backyard near the wall . . .

you know, where that hollow tree is. I had the hedge

clippers and was pruning like you showed me, Dad,

when I smelled something putrid. It seemed to come

from that hole in the tree. When I checked . . . I found

Tags: V.C. Andrews Dollanganger Horror
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