Read Sometimes Never, Sometimes Always for Free Online

and God?
    I fold the top of the bag down as I switch hands and tug at the door handle, forcing another smile. “Oh, we’re fine, Mrs. Johnson, but thanks for your prayers. I’ll tell my family you’re thinking of us. And thanks for the ride.”
    I’m out of the car and up the drive before she can respond, praying in my own way that the path to my room will be clear.

9. Something new to you …
    When I peel the plastic off the box, I am half expecting the screaming chaos of a legion of demons. That would certainly get my attention. Just because I’m not the world’s most faithful flock-member doesn’t mean I wouldn’t listen if the evidence were in front of me. But the cards slide out of the box without so much as a whisper from the devil, and they feel, in my hands, like any other new deck of cards. Slick and springy under my fingers, and slightly oversized.
    I set the cards on the floor, tucked behind an old stuffed pony pillow of mine, and pull Pumpkin out of the pig cage for some floor time. “Hi, girls.” I wave my little finger-face at them and imagine that they’re amused. Pumpkin squeaks a few times until I get her settled on the floor with a newspaper on top of her head and a treat. For a moment I feel bad about not getting something for the pigs with my birthday money. Still, the deck of cards calls to me from behind the pillow. I take it out and flip through, admiring the pictures.
    Despite the seemingly simple artwork—line drawings and what looks like colored-pencil shadings—the pictures are so compelling. I slide the thin guidebook out of the cardboard sleeve and start looking through it randomly. The meanings read like nonsense to me, strings of simple words. Prudence. Circumspection. Attraction. The book lists some of the cards in four suits, like regular playing cards, except the suits are Cups, Wands, Swords, and Pentacles. I frown at that last one. Pentacles—the five-sided star makes my hand shake a little. It looks like a legitimate devil worship symbol.
    I pull a card from the deck and try to match it to one of the meanings. It’s a picture of three smiling women, each of them holding up a big golden cup. I assume this means it’s in the Cups suit, so I look up the three of cups in my book. Fulfillment and abundance , it says. I guess that makes more sense when I look at the corresponding picture. The three women are dancing or celebrating, and they have flowers in their hair and bunches of grapes and gourds around them. Abundance. Fulfillment. Celebration. Partnership. Marriage. A nice card, this three of cups. I turn over another card.
    There’s a tap at my door and my heart lurches; my hands race to shove the cards, the book, the box out of sight behind my pony pillow. Pumpkin squeaks in annoyance at my sudden movements.
    Of course, it’s Eric. Anyone else would already be in here by now, staring at me with shock and horror as I sit here surrounded by sorcery and evil. Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m going to have to be more careful if I want to keep the balance of peace I have going with my family. But there’s something about this—my jumping pulse, my flushed cheeks. It’s exciting. It’s interesting . It’s all mine.
    “Cass?” Eric hovers in the doorway, biting his lip. “You weren’t in study hall.”
    “Went to the mall.” I wave him into the room and he pulls the door closed behind him.
    “The mall?” He laughs. “Is the Armageddon approaching?” He takes Nutmeg out of her pen and cuddles her close.
    “Yeah, pretty much.” I feel my eyes slide over to the pony pillow. “I bought myself a birthday present.”
    “That was lame of me, Cass. I didn’t mean to make you pick out your own present, but … I don’t know. Things change, and I probably haven’t done the best job keeping up with you and your interests. I know I’ve been … preoccupied with Gavin. Did you get something for the girls?” He tries to wave Nut’s little paw at me, but she