第13部分(第6/7 頁)

oney；　I’m　hooooome！”　Dan　called　eagerly。　He　cracked　a　grin　at　how　simple　and　lovely　the　phrase　sounded。　He　swung　the　door　to　his　bedroom　open。

“Dan！”　Vanessa　was　lying　on　his　bed；　naked　save　for　her　red　boy　shorts　with　black　X’s　all　over　them。　But　she　wasn’t　alone。　She　was　with　a　guy。　An　equally　naked　guy。

Dan　gaped；　unsure　of　what　was　going　on。　Was　this　a　bad　joke　or　a　dream　or　some　weird　sweat　lodge　vision？

Vanessa　scrambled　out　of　bed　and　stood　up；　holding　the　blue　flannel　duvet　around　her　body。　“I　can　explain；”　she　stuttered　helplessly。　Her　face　was　flushed；　her　lips　looked　red　and　bee…stung；　and　her　dark　eyes　were　wide　and　confused。

“Who　the　fuck　is　that？”　Dan　heard　himself　asking。　He　felt　like　he　was　a　character　in　one　of　those　lame　romantic　edies　that　Jenny　loved。　In　just　a　second　he’d　find　out　that　this　wasn’t　Vanessa；　but　her　long…lost　twin；　who’d　sneaked　into　the　Humphreys’　house　to　hide　her　boyfriend　from　the　Feds。

Right。

“I’ll　leave　you　guys　alone；”　Hollis　said　bluntly。　He　shrugged　his　shoulders　and　pulled　on　his　T…shirt。　He　shot　Vanessa　one　last；　long　look；　and　then　stalked　out　of　the　bedroom　and　out　the　front　door。

Vanessa　felt　rooted　to　the　spot。　She　wanted　to　run　after　Hollis；　and　she　wanted　to　fort　Dan；　all　at　once。　This　was　very　bad。

The　understatement　of　the　year。

Dan　could　feel　the　tears　beginning　to　well　up　in　his　hazel　eyes。　He　felt　his　heart　clench。　Was　this　what　having　a　heart　attack　felt　like？

He　looked　around　for　something　to　throw。　He　needed　to　hear　something　shattering；　because　that　was　what　his　heart　was　doing　right　now。　He　picked　up　Vanessa’s　video　camera　and　hurled　it；　as　hard　as　he　could；　against　the　opposite　wall。　Instead　of　breaking；　it　bounced　onto　the　floor；　then　ro