Grace and Eric were obviously very shocked and hurt. Uncle Fredrik told them everything; from spending the money they sent him for the meetings on the drugs to hiding some of it in their house.
Grace was very upset with him, mais for hiding it in her início than spending the money on other things than what it was meant for.
"You hid that stuff in my home!" She bellowed.
"Gracie, I never thought you would find out!"
That made everything worse. Grace leaped to her feet and nearly slapped her big brother, Eric had to restrain her por grabbing the topo, início of her shoulders.
"What? You thought that I wouldn't eventually find that disgusting stuff in my home?"
Uncle Fredrik seemed to cringe and sink lower in his chair.
"Umm..."
Eric's eyes popped wide open.
"'Umm...' what Fred?"
Fredrik slowly looked up and gulped.
"It's been hidden in here for three months." He answered quietly.
"WHAT?" Grace and Eric screamed. Eric let go of his Wife's arms. "You hid that in my house for three months!... how did we not notice that?" Grace asked confused.
Zoe hid behind the door while World War Three started in her living room, until her Mum threw something at Uncle Fredrik, which smashed into a million tiny peices so she decided to go the her refuge: her bedroom. Arriving there, she collapsed on her cama and began her homework burden...

JOE

He left through the front door and sighed.
That is something I want to do again, he thought.
On the other hand, he was miserable, which he didn't understand. He was never grouchy after that, not even if it was with someone he classed as vile, which for her, he most certainly did not. She was a brilliant person and he loved her so much, she was amazing, so sweet, polite, lovable and she was his favourite person in the world.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked. "Why am I not happy?"
He stumbled down the road, avoiding the parked cars and the people walking near him. He was trying to figure out his own mind. He had just kissed a girl he had liked for currently... forever and he was moping!
Unable to take the confusiona and the frustration, he whacked his fist off a car and then felt excruciating pain shoot through his entire arm, he screamed.
"Stupid idiot!"
What did you expect? he fumed at himself. you hit yourself off a car, obviously you're gonna end up hurting yourself!
"Hey!"
He spun around to see four big guys walking towards him.
"What?" He called.
"What?What? What do you think your doing? That is my car you're smacking you're fists off of mate!"
Joe glanced at the the vehicle he had just smacked, luckily for him, there was no marks.
"Oh, sorry. I- I didn't think about what I was doing, but there's no harm done."
They were too close for his liking, and they certainly were not the happiest of people.
The tallest (and possible olddest one) spoke angrily, "'No harm done'? You just-"
"I know, but there is not a dent or anything."
This did not comfort them the slightest. One of the men in the middle jogged progressivo, para a frente and ran his hand across the car, checking for any dents.
"Nah mate," He said to the car owner. "there's nuthin' there, not a dent or a scratch."
His face became relieved for a brief segundo in which Joe could relax... until they all cracked their knuckles.
"Well, we'd better make sure this little git, doesn't do this again, hadn't we boys?"
Joe stepped back.
"Walk away." He said. "Seriously, get away from me."
They just laughed, the fourth one grabbed Joe in a head lock and pinned him to the ground while the others advanced on him.

ZOE

She lay on her cama and began daydreaming... How she had completed all the homework she had been given in one night was beyond her... she had kissed Joe, Joe, one of her best friends, whom she loved... but only as a friend, why did she kiss him? She should have said, 'No, Joe, I do amor you, but only as a friend or a brother.' She shouldn't have let him play tonsil tênis with her! Life was about to get very complicated for her, and her friends.
Think of something else, anything else
She had to remember to go to see Mrs Conner before school began... so, she would have to get up early. Zoe covered her face in her travesseiro and screamed. Why did she have to go and ruin her friendship with him? Couldn't she have just said, 'No.'?
trying to leave that train of thought she listened hard for anything happening downstairs... all was well on the Western Front.
She flopped down the stairs and found her Mum cleaning up, while her Dad and Uncle were sitting in the corner discussing quietly.
"Mum?"
Grace looked up.
"Sorry baby, are you hungry?"
Zoe shook her head slowly.
"No, I was just... wondering what was going to happen now."
Grace's eyebrow rose in confusion.
"Happen now?"
"Um, with Uncle Fredrik and us."
Grace's face became instantly furious, clearly, she hadn't quite forgiven her big brother for betraying her as easily as Zoe and her father apparently had.
"Well, he will be coming to live with us." She said tensely. "Just for a while, until he gets back on his feet... is that okay?"
Zoe giggled and everyone stared at her.
"Of course it's okay with me! Why wouldn't I want my favourite Uncle to come and live with his favourite neice?"
Uncle Fredrik laughed from the corner but shut up immediately as his sister's head spun in his direction.
"Okay then," Grace didn't sound too glad about Zoe being as enthusiastic as she was about having her Uncle to come live with them. Grace went back to cleaning, Eric and Fredrik continued their conversation.
"Did you finish our homework?" Grace asked.
"Uh huh." Zoe answered. "All done."
She shrugged and went to put her cleaning supplies back in the closet, then she went to start dinner.
"Pizza tonight." She called into the room.
"Brilliant, Gracie!" Fredrik yelled back.
Grace didn't answer him and Uncle Fredrik sighed and began talking to Zoe's Dad again.
What are they talking about? Zoe wondered.
She walked over to sit beside them but they stopped talking as soon as she was in earshot.
"Don't stop on my acount." She said acidly.
Eric looked at her but then he muttered something about helping her Mum and Uncle Fredrik refused to look at her.
"Uncle Fred, what's wrong?"
He still wouldn't look at her.
"Nothing's wrong Zozo." She could barely make him out. "I think I better go help out too, try and get in your mother's good books again."
He jumped up faster than he had ever moved before and left the living room quite arubtly.
What was that all about?
Zoe slammed her hands on the mesa, tabela and pushed herself up and began to stomp into the cozinha to demand and explanation as to why they were atuação weird around her, she wasn't the one who betrayed the family. Before she could entre the room she heard her Mum gasp and she his around the side of the door.
"No," She sounded like she was about to cry. "It can not be true. Please no."
"I am so, so, sorry Gracie, it is. This fonte is completely reliable." It was Uncle Fredrik's voice.
Her Mum began crying.
"No, come on Grace, we have to act normal!" It was her Dad that time.
Grace took deep, long breaths until the were normal again.
"You're right, you're right. We cannot tell her! It would kill her, atuação normal is the best way isn't it?"
There were no mais audible words and so Zoe went back into the sitting room.
They were obviously keeping something from her, something bad, possibly dangerous... no that was a ridiculous assumption, her parents always were the over- protective type, parents never kept something dangerous from their kids... maybe it was some kind of party? Were the going broke?
No, her parents would have told her about that too.
She wrapped her arms tightly around her.
Why were they keeping secrets from her?
She was freaking out, why wouldn't people just tell the truth? One lie immediately leads to another... this brought her back to her and Joe.
Crap, crap, crap and crap
Joe, he was going to flip and not in the good way, she was going to have to tell him the truth first thing in the morning, she would have one less friend in 11 hours, and the others would hate her for hurting him in that way.... maybe she didn't have to do it tomorrow, maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing, she could try to amor him and save her friendship... she could try and get him to break up with her! The phone rang interuppting her thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Zozo!" Thomas yelled down the phone.
She had to hold the phone away from her ear so not to go permanently deaf in her left ear.
"S'up, Tom?"
"I wanted yo know if you were okay. You scared us earlier."
Zoe's teeth gritted together, as if she didn't feel bad enough without Thomas reminding her of past incidents.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him. "I'm just waiting for my dinner."
"You don't sound fine." He stated. "What has happened?"
Zoe sighed down the phone.
"Nothing."
"I want the truth Zoe." He demanded.
She couldn't tell him, he would think she was a slut, a bad friend, a user...
"Nothing," Another person she was keeping a secret from, will it never stop? "I just want my dinner, my tummy is growling."
"I'll talk to you tomorrow." He promised. "I have got to finish this Biology homework. Later Zo'"
He hung up and she went back to brooding. Why was she lying to everybody?
She didn't feel much like eating, or talking.
"I'm going to bed, someone can eat my slices." She said quickly, she flew up the stairs and collapsed in her bed.
"Hello Ma'am." He said politely, in his hypnotic voice. "I'm looking for my little sister, she is about yay high-" he lifted his hand to indicate the rough size of her figure, "Brown hair, blue eyes. Have you por any chance seen her?"
His face lit up in hope. The woman looked deeply sympathetic with him.
"Oh, I am afraid not. I have been in here all dia but I'll keep a look out for you. Oh, poor dear, I do hope you find her."
"So do I Ma'am."
His face fell and he pretended to take a deep shaky breath.
"Thank you Ma'am. I am sorry to of wasted your time."
His voice shook and he hung his head.
"Not at all, not at all. I'm just sorry I couldn't have been mais help. Good luck to you."
The woman closed the door slowly keeping her eyes on him at all times. He turned to go back up the corridor but then done a double-take in her direction. He danced over.
No, no. Please, please no. He didn't see me, he didn't see me, he didn'-. He saw her alright. He yanked off the topo, início of the bin and glared down at her, filthy and trapped in the tiny bin.
"What do we have here?"
He grinned down at her as if there was some sort of private joke between them.
"Please, please let me go." Her voice wavered.
He pointed to his nose and smiled menacingly down at her.
"P-please! You- you were trying to kill m-me! You said so!" She tried reasoning with him. "I- it was a n-natural re-reaction, I did what I had to d-do to get away!"
He just shook his head.
"You really think I'm that much of a pushover?" He growled.
"N-no, I- I n-n-never-"
"YOU THINK... that I was just going to LET you get away after you breaking my nose."
"Please," she whispered, shaking her head. "I didn't mean to! I-" her voice broke.
He wrapped his whole hand around her neck, he choked off her words; she couldn't breathe. All was silent for a few moments except from her throat struggling to uptain any oxygen then there was a squeeze around her throat along with a slow, painful, cracking sound...
Zoe bolted up screaming for the segundo night in a row.
"Zoe!" Her dad burst into her room and automatically calmed down once he saw her apologetic look.
"Zoe!" Uncle Fredrik and her Mum ran into her room.
"I'm sorry guys; bad dream."
Grace sat down, took her daughter's hand and squeezed it.
"What's wrong, Zoe?" Grace said. "This is the segundo night in a row you have had nightmares. Was it the same one?"
Zoe opened her mouth to answer and shut it again. Could she tell her mum about that dream? She remembered everything about it this time; the strange man, the girl, the place, the sense of hoplessness, the murder... she couldn't confess to those kind of dreams could she?
No, they would confine her to a mental instituition for sure.
"No. This one... was about that stupid scary movie I saw." She laughed weakly and she could tell she had barely convinced the adults. They all kissed her softly on her forehead and went back to their beds.
Why was she keeping all these secrets? Why was she keeping her dream a secret? It was all ridiculous... secrets, she never liked to keep them... she would burst if she didn't tell someone the truth... there was a few advantages to having a boyfriend.