Tessa (From Fear to Faith) Read Online Free Page A

There’ll be no more smoking for you. If I find any more of my cigarettes missing, I’ll see that you pay for it!”
    “We’ll see about that,” I muttered, as I limped down the hallway to my room. I paused in front of the mirror and eyed myself. Inheriting my mother’s slender frame was a blessing, mostly. I could eat what I liked and still be the envy of the girls at school. But at five foot three and ninety-four pounds, I would never pass for eighteen at the convenience store. Not that I had the means to get there anyway.
    Mom is so mean. The springs in my mattress creaked as I threw myself onto the bed. How am I supposed to survive without a smoke when she can’t? Grabbing my radio, I turned the dial until I hit a hard rock station, the kind Mom used to scold Walter for playing when I was around. This time, I didn’t care what she thought.
    Another hour passed before the slam of the back door alerted me that Walter had come home. My heart rate kicked up and the muscles in my neck tightened. I hadn’t seen Walter since he beat me up. I made sure to stay in my room when he was around, and so far he hadn’t bothered me. But I knew my luck was running out. Any day now, Walter could demand that I start working for him again.
    Clicking my radio off, I slipped from the bed and pressed an ear up to my door. Weary as I was of my parents’ constant fighting, I felt safer when I knew what was going on.
    “Where have you been?” Mom greeted Walter.
    “What do you mean, where’ve I been?” he shot back. “I’m not your kid.” Then he thought better of it. “I was out in the shop doing some varnishing. Told Jeff I’d have that desk done by next week. So, when’s supper? We gotta get going.”
    Dread coiled in my stomach. I knew all too well what it meant when he used the plural pronoun. Out in the kitchen, Mom caught the word as well.
    “We?” There was a scrape as she pulled out a fry pan. “Who’s we?”
    Walter began to whistle, ignoring the question.
    “Don’t you dare, Walter. She’s not going anywhere with you. She can barely walk.”
    “Oh yeah? Then how come you been bugging me to send her to school?”
    “Look. She can’t stay out forever. She’s a spoiled brat. She won’t listen to me, she’s smoking again, and she doesn’t get out of bed until noon.”
    Walter laughed. “Sounds like you’d have a heck of a time getting her there at all, much less on time. I wouldn’t bother.”
    “I can get her there just fine! Provided you don’t start working her til some ungodly hour again.”
    “Forget it, Julie. I need the help.”
    A fist slammed on the counter, rattling the dishes. “I will not allow my daughter to grow up to be the idiot that you are!” Mom yelled. “I insist she goes to school!”
    “Hey. I’m earning the money around here, just in case you forgot.”
    “You think that proves you’re smart, huh? Look at yourself! You can’t even read your own traffic tickets!”
    “Why, do I want to?”
    “You’re impossible. Tessa is going to school if I hafta drag her there in her pajamas. And if you get in my way, I’ll call the cops.”
    “Yeah? That’d be the day. You take one look at a cop, and you freak out.”
    I withdrew from my door with a sigh. My parents had been sparring on this topic ever since I’d recovered enough to crawl out of bed. Nothing ever seemed to come of it. Personally, I hoped nothing would. Going to school after Walter had worked me til two or three in the morning was a total nightmare. Last spring, my grades had slipped to the point I had to attend summer school just to pass. The opening week of school, before I’d run away, had been equally miserable.
    In the kitchen, I could hear the rise and fall of Walter’s voice as he made the usual assortment of phone calls that preceded a work night. I groaned and pressed my hands over my ears, trying to block out his voice. How I hated working for him! Not only was the job detestable, but I had to endure