Num8ers - By Rachel Ward Page 0,107

go! When Mum had said not to come!”

“Adam…”

“She trusted you!”

“I know, but…” She reaches her hand out toward the ashtray. Her fingers are trembling as she stubs out her cigarette. The dish is overflowing — stale, disgusting, like her. I reach forward, too, pick the vile thing up, and hurl it against the wall. It smashes when it hits the floor. Glass and ash spray out.

“Adam!” she screams. “That’s enough!”

But it’s not enough. Not nearly enough.

I tighten my grip on the table and heave it over, sending it crashing down on its side by the sink, broken china and brown tea mixing with ash and glass.

“Jesus Christ! Stop it, Adam!”

“Shut up. Shut the fuck up!”

“Don’t you dare…”

The ashtray’s not enough. The table’s not enough. It’s not their fault, anyway. It’s hers.

And now I’ve got to get out of here. ‘Cause I know what I want to do next and that’s crossing a line. It’s wrong. And I want to so much, but if I start…if I start, I might not stop.

“I hate you! I hate you!”

I’m out of the kitchen and through the living room and out the front door before I can change my mind. The cold air hits me, and I stop for a minute to suck it in. But standing still’s no good. There’s too much energy charging through me, I’m too wound up, so I walk and then I run. And as I run it starts raining, icy drops stinging my face.

I’m not running away from her. I’m running away from what I might have done to her. It’s better this way. Better for both of us if I keep on running and never go back.

SARAH

I wont be able to take much. He always gives me a lift to school, and He’ll notice any extra bags. So it’s only what I can get in my normal bag, and money. If I’ve got enough money with me, I can buy anything else I need.

They’ll look at my account when I go. Ask the police or someone to see what I’ve been spending, where I’ve been. So cash is the thing. As much cash as I can find.

I’ve been pinching tenners out of my mum’s purse for weeks now. One at a time, so she won’t notice. I know Dad keeps cash in His study. I haven’t had the nerve to go in there — it’s His room, it smells of Him. Even when I know He’s not in the house, won’t be back for ages, I can’t bring myself to do it.

Now, it’s different. I’m going to go tomorrow. I take all the books out of my schoolbag — I’ll manage without them — then I carefully fold up some underwear, my favorite T-shirts, some track pants. I look at my jeans in the drawer. I really want to take a pair — they’re all I wear normally, but even my favorites, the ones I’ve worn and washed ‘til they’ve gone soft and floppy, won’t zip up now. No point taking things I can’t wear.

I count up the cash I’ve got stashed away: eighty-five euros, not enough. I know Marty and Luke have got some money. Can I steal from my brothers? I could — if they weren’t in their rooms right now. I need more. It’s going to have to be Dad’s money.

He’s out for the evening, entertaining some clients at dinner. Mum’s watching TV in the sitting room. I pass by the doorway, and hesitate. There’s another way, isn’t there? I don’t have to leave. I could go in there now, sit down next to her, and tell her. She’d have to do something then, wouldn’t she? Ring the police? Throw Him out? Or gather all our things up and take us somewhere, me and the boys?

Or would she tell me to shut up? Send me to my room for telling such wicked lies? Or shrug her shoulders, say that’s just the way things are, the way He is?

At the back of my mind, I know that she already knows.

How can she not know?

IT ALL ADDS UP!

PRAISE FOR

NUM8ERS

“Even the idea of this book gave me chills. How would you like to know someone’s fate just by looking in their eyes? Creepy and original!”

— R.L. Stine

“A page-turner: Engrossing and au-courant. One thing is certain:

Ward’s Numbers is ace.”

— The Los Angeles Times

* “A gritty tale, unsparingly told. Stark and honest.”

— Publishers Weekly, starred review

* “Gritty, bold, and utterly unique. The ending is a real shocker.”

— School Library Journal, starred review

“A lovely, bittersweet tearjerker about living life to the fullest.”

— Kirkus

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Cover art and design by Christopher Stengel

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. Originally published in hardcover in 2010 by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, CHICKEN HOUSE, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

www.scholastic.com

First paperback printing, February 2011

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

E-ISBN 978-0-545-35672-5

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

FIVE YEARS LATER

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

About the Author

Special Sneak Preview

PRAISE FOR NUM8ERS