whole incident in a flash.
They had been maybe seven years old and goofing off on Helen?s
widow?s walk. Helen fell, but she never hit the ground. She?d sort
of settled to earth like a leaf falling from a tree. Claire swore up and
down that Helen had slipped, but Helen never remembered losing
her balance, and because of the way Claire looked at her for weeks
afterward, Helen had suspected something fishy before putting it
out of her mind. Now it all made sense. Helen stared at Claire,
speechless.
?What? I didn?t think you?d die or anything! Long story short?I
saw you not fall down my stairs the day before when you actually
did slip, so I needed to test my theory,? Claire said as if it all made
perfect sense.
?By pushing me off the roof??
?You have no idea how angry I?ve been with you since then for
keeping it from me! You can fly, Lennie, and you never told me!?
Claire yelled, completely shifting the argument away from herself,
but Helen decided that she should allow it, considering Claire?s obvious
hurt.
?I didn?t know until a few weeks ago!? Helen insisted.
?You are such a liar!? Claire said, jabbing a fist against her hip.
?It?s true! My mom put a curse on me when I was a baby so I
wouldn?t be able to use my . . . Aw, crap! It would be so much easier
if I was a vampi
re. Then you?d just understand!? Helen huffed,
frustrated and feeling misunderstood. She paced around for a bit,
raking her fingers through her tangled hair, before she was able to
put her thoughts in order.
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?Hergie made you read the Iliad, right? You remember how all