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"So your mom makes a movie and pockets five million bucks The name Grace Walker commands at least that much"

"Yeah" I had no idea why, but I was overcoo and stop hiding "But that doesn’t help us ht now My mom is in a coma"

She drew a sharp breath

"No one in the , but … we’ve kept it under wraps People probably just think she’s so a full body lift" I closed er at the situation and the anger at ?" she asked

I opened my eyes to search her face I didn’t feel pity from her, or hear it in her voice There was only eht months"

She took my arm and pulled me toward one of the benches that lined Main Street "Sit You don’t have to tellBut … sit"

We both sat Now that I’d opened up to her, it was like I couldn’t stop I just kept talking, no ht after Dad died It wasn’t an accident or anything like that We don’t knohat’s wrong with her Exactly"

"What do you , so I went to her room to find her She was in her bathroom On the floor There were … pills They were all around her" I blew out a sigh, trying not to see her now Trying not to relive the fear and the pain "MyIt was the perfect reaction

We sat in silence for a few s, and how much I wanted her to know "Jack told E her alive Her memories of Dad"

"And you"

I wanted to believe that The doubt had only grown in the past h to stick around I knew deep down it wasn’t true, but the lie showed up at the irl, was handy

"When Jack took Emerson’s memories, he replaced theuess Jack claimed that made her suicidal"

Traffic passed by on Main Street, and I listened to the co out the day Keys jangling in store locks, car doors opening and shutting, faint snatches of conversations about dinner plans

"Em told me about Michael," she said, "when he was dead Your dad was, too That’s so strange"

I didn’t mention that Em had been dead pretty recently as well

"But Michael and your dad are both alive and well now" Her hand ed her mind and quickly pulled it back into her lap "You have to hold out hope that one day your mom will be okay"

Not only did she believe what she was saying, she wanted me to believe it The honesty in her voice rapped with a warmth I wanted to lean on "Thank you"

"You’re really only fifty percent jerk, you know Maybe forty-nine But that other fifty or fifty-one? That’s solid And I bet it’s because of yourher hand and squeezing it gently before letting go

After a full lad we had a touching moment and all, but you should be aware of the fact that I still don’t like you"

"Not even the fifty percent that’s solid?" I fought the desire to laugh

She kept her focus on the street, but I could see her lips twitching from the corner of my eye "Don’t push it"

"Fine, then" I kept my focus on the street as well "I don’t like you, either"

"Good," she said, sounding authoritative "You think we can work on this ‘finding crap’ thing for a fewto do itself"