Page 15 (1/2)

She’s pulling herself up on her elbow, slowly scooting closer toto reach out foreven harder now

"Help me, Dean," she says

She hasn’t calledme Dean now I don’t like it

I squeezemy voice to work or my arms to ht now

"Dean, please," she cries, only this tio," the child begs

I open er there, but so with her back pressed against the pantry door and her head is buried in her ars

Hope

I still can’t hter and tighter with each sob that racks the little girl’s body All I can do is sit and watch her cry, because I’m physically unable to even turn my head or close my eyes

"Dean," she says, her voice muffled by her arms and her tears It’s the first time I’ve heard her say my name since the day she was taken and it knocks out what little breath I had left in me She slowly lifts her head away froray, identical to Les’s She leans her head back against the pantry door and wipes away a tear with the back of her hand

"You found me," she whispers

Only this tiirl anymore It’s not even Les’s voice

It’s Sky’s

Chapter Eleven

I open er on the kitchen floor

I’m in asping for air

Chapter Twelve

I couldn’t go back to sleep last night after the night and it’s now after six

I drop down onto the sidehen I reach her house I stretchmy shoes while I stretch theI do seeht I had no intention of running with her again today But I’ve been sitting alone for over four hours, wide awake, and the only thing that even reain

I also had no intention of going back to school today but it see ho ot back from Austin last week I’ or where I’ll be or even what frame of mind I’ll be in

I don’t like this instability

I also don’t like that I’ on her to co run I don’t like that I still feel the need to be around her I don’t like the fact that I don’t want her to believe the ruive a shit when anyone else believes theive a shit if she believes theo back home and leave her to believe whatever she wants to believe

I stand up in an atte, but I just stand here, waiting on her I know I need to leave and I know I don’t want to be involved with anyone even remotely interested in Grayson, but I can’t do it I can’t leave because I want to see her again a whole lot more than I want to leave

A noise coet a look She’s cli her again, even from a distance, reminds me of why I crave to be around her so much It’s only been a few days, but since the mo about her My attention is constantly homed in on her like I’m a compass and she’s my North

Once she’s outside, she pauses and looks up toward the sky, inhaling a deep breath I take a few hesitant steps toward her "Do you always cli to avoid me?"

She spins around, wide-eyed I try not to let s I’ve seen her run in are hard not to stare at

Keep looking at her face, Holder You can do it

She glances at me, but doesn’t make eye contact Her eyes lock on my stomach and I’ a shirt or if it’s because she can’t stand me to the point that it’s hard for her to lookto avoid you I would have just stayed in bed" She walks past me and lowers herself onto the sidewalk

I hate that her voice does things to my body that no other voice could ever do But I also love it and want her to keep talking, even if she is rude s out in front of her and begins to stretch She seems fairly calm today, despite the fact that I showed up I sort of expected her to tell s in the hallway yesterday

"I wasn’t sure if you’d show up," I say, taking a seat on the sidewalk in front of her

She lifts her head and looks me in the eyes this time "Why wouldn’t I? I’m not the one with the issues Besides, neither of us owns the road"

Issues?

She thinks I have issues?

I’ into the ru notes on her locker, nor am I one of the many people at school who have treated her like shit If anything, I’ve been one of the few people to be nice to her