School was boring as usual. The only exciting part of my day was when I arrived home and could play with Bella. She was so much fun and so lively - she never seemed to run out of energy, not even at bedtime when she was supposed to be asleep in her basket.
Emma and I liked to make her play "hide and seek" with us. We'd take it in turns to be the one counting and then have Bella help us find the other person. She was really good at it, but often became distracted by other things, such as sniffing stinky socks or trying to jump onto our beds (which she wasn't supposed to do). However, she made the game more fun, because it wasn't hardly as much fun trying to find someone on your own.
Today, I was hiding.
"One, two, three..." Emma began, so I ran upstairs (that was where all the best hiding places were), rushing into every room to decide my most effective options. Normally, I hid in a room other than Emma's, so I decided, for a change, I would hide in her wardrobe, where she would least expect to find me. It was certainly big enough for me to fit into.
"Ready or not, here I come!" That was definitely not counting to one hundred! I was out of time! I could already hear her footsteps coming up the stairs and Bella's excited yapping increasing in volume.
I dashed into her room, yanking the door shut behind me, and then grabbed the wardrobe handle to tug it open. As it was very full of clothes, I had to shove some of the tops and trousers lining the bottom to each side, so I would be able to curl up beneath the hung-up clothes. I had almost cleared a space to slide into when I noticed something that certainly wasn't an item of clothing.
There was a knife hidden in Emma's wardrobe.
I should have known not to trust her. I should have known it was all pretend.
How long had it been lying here, unnoticed? For how long had my sister been hiding a dangerously sharp kitchen knife in her wardrobe? And had she used it?
I knew I had to get rid of it, somehow, but I could hear Emma searching through the nearby rooms. I couldn't let her catch me in her wardrobe, but she would be in here any moment. If she knew I'd seen it... I didn't want to think about what would happen.
What would Mummy tell you to do, I asked myself in desperation. But I didn't know. I felt as if I didn't know anything anymore and never would again.
Maybe it wasn't a knife – maybe it was just pretend. I'd have to check to be sure, and then I'd put it back before Emma could know I'd found it.
I reached under the bundle of clothes partially concealing the weapon. Taking care not to touch its sharp end, I grasped it by the handle and tugged it free. My goodness, it was sharp. It was the knife Mummy was always telling me not to touch whenever she used it in the kitchen.
"Where d'you think he is, Bells?" Just like that, Emma was outside the room.
I swallowed. My heart began to pound heavily. There was no time to do anything, so in a last-minute attempt to hide what I'd found, I shoved the knife behind my back. Please don't come in I begged. Turn around and go somewhere else.
My wish was not granted.
"Luke!" she groaned when she saw me just standing there, not even trying to hide. "Why aren't you hidd-"
She knew. I could see it in her eyes. She knew. I was done for.
My hands began to tremble. My fingers tightened their hold on the knife handle. I could feel my knees knocking together as my legs shook.
"What are you hiding?" She didn't sound too angry. Please don't let her be mad.
"Nothing."
"WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?" This time louder.
Then she ran towards me, knocking me back against her wardrobe before I even had time to think about what was happening. Her arms reached behind my back, grabbing desperately at the knife. I could feel her cold fingers trying to prise mine apart, but I still held on, trying with all my might to keep the knife out of her grasp.
"Let go!" she stabbed her fingernails into my hand.
"Argh!" she squealed. I felt her letting go, then looked up to see a droplet of red blood trickling from her finger. She clutched it to her chest, her mouth gaping open. We both stared at each other for a good minute, both in shock.
Then she did something I could never forgive her for. She brought back her arm and smacked me hard across the cheek.
I released the knife as pain spread across my face. She grabbed her weapon immediately and held it out in front of her body, pointing it at my chest.
"Don't say a word."
I shook my head rapidly.
"Stay where you are." The knife moved slowly upwards to point at my throat. I could almost feel its blade on my skin.
"P-please-" I stopped short, remembering her command.
"Quiet!" She poked the knife at my neck. It was so sharp, I didn't dare move an inch. "And you won't say a word after all of this, Lukey, because if you do... well, I'm pretty sure you know what would happen."
I nodded as quickly as possible, leaning backwards, away from the knife. I understood perfectly well. Please don't hurt me, please don't do anything I willed.
To my relief, she then lowered the knife and placed it down on the floor.
"Don't worry." Emma placed a hand on my shoulder. Although her tone was softer, I still shook it off, shuddering. "The knife isn't for me. It won't be used unless necessary. After all, it's only there for Tod."
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