The Secret by Libby Yates (book recommendations for young adults .TXT) 📕

I was at home with Zane and Peace. Peace was in her bedroom playing, Zane and I were in the living room watching a movie. Peace came down the stairs. "I want to go to the park and play with my friends. Can we go please?" Peace asked.

"We will go in a few minutes. This movie is almost over." I told her.

"But you guys have seen this movie like ten gazillion times already and my friends are there now."

"Well you're just going to have to wait. Now be quite please, so we can finish the movie." Peace rolled her eyes and went back up to her room.

About twenty-five minutes later I go upstairs to go see if Peace was ready to go to the park. When I got to her door I heard her talking with someone. I opened the door and no one was in her room with her. "Who were you just talking to sweetie?" I asked her.

"I wasn't talking to anyone." She told me.

"I heard you talking with someone in here. You best not be lying to me."

"I'm not lying. I was talking to myself."

I didn't know if I should belive her or not.

I thought to myself. "Come on we are going to the park now. Get your shoes on and then come on down stairs."

"Ok." She said smiling at me.

I went down stairs and told Zane what I heard from Peace's room. "She could have an imaginary friend." He told me.

"That could be true, but she is nine years old now. Why would she have an imaginary friend?"

"She is a weird child sometimes." Zane said laughing. Peace comes down the stairs then.

"Ok, Sally and I are ready to go to the park now." She told us with her favorite doll in her arms.

"Just make sure you don't lose Sally. Ok?" I told her.

"You know that I won't lose her. She is my favorite doll and she is always by my side."

All I chould do about that comment was smile at her. Zane opened the door so we could go out before him and he could lock the door behind us. Then we started walking to the park. Peace was holding Zane's hand. She loved her big brother so very much. It has been only the two of them since Zane what eighteen. Until I met them three years ago and I have been with them since then. They are like my family now. My real family and I never really go along that well, so when I was seventeen I ran away from home.

We finally go to the park, as soon as Peace seen her friends she ran toward them. I pulled Zane toward a bench so we could sit and talk, but we made sure that we could still see Peace. "She looks so happy. Don't you think so?" I said.

"Yeah she does." Zane said.

"What do you want me to do with her tomorrow, Since you have to go to work?"

"I have no clue Leara. Do what you think will be fun for you guys. Oh and make sure she eats, please. She really hadn't been eating much. It's really worring me."

"She doesn't really seem like she has fun with me at all. I'll make her favorite food. So don't worry babe."

"Leara, she is just not use to you doing things with her alone. I'm usually there with you two. I know she loves you. Ok, my Love."

"Yeah, ok."

I hope she will get use to it soon, but sometimes when I'm alone she really gives me a weird felling. It might just be me. I really want to tell Zane about it, but I'm afraid he might get mad at me.

I thought to myself. I looked at Peace to make sure she was ok, and she was sitting on the slide talking with all of her friends. "I feel like I'm the black sheep in this family." I told Zane.

"You're not the black sheep of the family." He said.

"I'm different than both you guys. I don't even know how you can love me at all."

"Yeah, Love you maybe different, but that's what makes you, you. Don't worry about it. I have always loved you from the very first day I seen you."

"How can you love someone like me?"

"Just because you're different than we are doesn't mean that we don't love you with all of our hearts."

"Yeah, but I'm gothic. All your friends hate me."

"Don't worry about them. I'm with you because I want to be, not for them."

I didn't know what to say about that, so I started crying. No one in my whole life has ever been so nice and sweet to me as Zane and Peace are. I'm so happy that I have them in my life now. Why am I always like this? I hate this side of me. I feel such like a baby.

I thought to myself.

It was about an hour later and I finally stopped crying, but I feel so bad about breaking down like that. "Are you feeling better now, Leara?" Zean asked me.

"Yeah I feel a little bit better now. I'm sorry for that."

"If you want want we can go and get some ice cream, but that's up to you."

"Yeah that would be cool. I'll go get Peace if you want?"

"Go ahead and get her."

"Ok, babe." I said smiling sweetly at him.

I got up and walked toward Peace and her friends. They were on the swings. "Peace, sweet heart can you come over here for a minute, pleace?" She got up and came over to me.

"Would you like to get some ice cream with Zane and me?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I would love to get some ice cream." She said with a huge smile on her face.

"Ok, then sweetie. Go and tell your friends that you'll be back later."

She ran over to her friends and told them that she will be back in about fifteen to twenty minutes. She came back over to me and grabbed my hand. When she did that I was so happy. We walked over to Zane and he smiled at Peace.

We walked to the ice cream stand, it took us about ten minutes. Zane went to get our cones. Peace and I went to the picinic table to wait for him. About five minutes later he was walking toward us with our cones. Peace got vanilla, Zane got chocolate, and I got strawberry. "How do you llike your ice cream Peace?" I asked her.

"It is super yummy and delicious. Vanilla is my favorite." She told me.

"Yeah, I can tell by the way you're eating it." I said laughing at her.

She smiles up at me with ice cream all over her face. She looks so cute like that.

I thought to myself. "You do know that you have ice cream all over your face don't you?" I asked her.

"Yes I do. I was saving that for later." Peace said laughing.

"OK, just making sure you did. Don't forget to eat it before we get back to the park."

"Oh don't worry I will."

About forty-five to an hour later we went back to the park. Peace's friends were still there. "Ok, now you have fun with your friends and play nice." Zane said to his little sister.

"I will bubby. Don't worry and thanks for the ice cream." Peace said while walking away.

"She is a hand full sometimes, but you've got to love her." I told Zane.

"Yeah she is, but at least she listens to me when I tell her to do something." He said.

"Mmm, when do you get off work tomorrow?"

"I think I'll be home around five thirty or so."

"Ok, I think I'm going to go take Peace shopping, if that's ok with you."

"Yeah that's fine. She really does need new clothes."

. . .

I ran up to my friends. They were all still sitting on the swings. Brendan waved at me when he seen me. I waved back. I have a crush on him, but he is also one of my best friends. I was going to as him to go out with me, but if I did Zane would be mad.

"Hey guys, I'm back, what have you been up to?" I asked.

"We were talking but, other than that nothing really. We were about to play obstacle course. Would you like to play?" Brendan asked me.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun." I smiled at him.

"Ok, we are going to break up into teams. Ok?"

"Ok." Everyone yelled.

"Sue and Mike are together, Kim and John are together, Nina and Micah are together and Peace and I will be together. Ok?"

Everyone was ok with that except Nina, but she did not show it. The only way I know is because she mouths 'help me' and she told me that she really likes Micah. But she was to shy to say anything to him. She didn't even like being around him, when she is she gets all red. I think she can handle this. "Ok, now that everyone has a partner we can start. First, you have to go up the slides backward, second, you go across the monkey bars, third, you walk across the swings, last but not least you have to jump to the circle rings and do a flip, and you have to do all of this without touching the grown, but if you do you have to start all over. What ever team has the best time wins." Brendan said smiling at me.

"Which team want to go first?" I asked.

Micah was the first one to raise his hand, so we got him set up so he could go. Then a Creepy Woman started walking over towards us. "Brendan there is a creepy woman walking towards up." I said.

"We can go and see what she wants?" He said.

"Yeah, ok. Just as long as you go with me."

"Ok, I'll go with you."

We walked over to the creepy woman. She was stairing at me and she was giving me a very creepy feeling. "Excuse me, Miss? Do you need something?" I asked her.

"Yes, there is. I wanted to know if you were here with someone?" The Creepy Woman asked.

"Yes, I'm here with my big brother and his girlfriend."

"Ok, Thats good. Do you know your parents, Little One?"

"All I know is that my daddy died when I was only a baby. I don't know what happened to my mommy."

"Well, Little One, I know where you mother is. If you would like I can take you to her?"

"Yes, please I want to go see my mommy."

"Ok. My name is Ms. Trotter."

"Brendan don't tell Zane what I'm doing. I'll try and be back before he knows I'm not here." I told Brendan

"Ok, I won't say anything, but if you not back in an hour I'm going to tell him."

"Ok."

Ms. Trotter