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As soon as Senia pulls up in front of Annabelle’s parents’ beach house, I shtens I focuselse as I breathe deeply and slowly Senia is quiet as she waits for es ofbut the bottle disappears I think about hoater is the essential element for life to flourish I think of how it soothes and carries us, cleanses and quenches us I i away every worry, every doubt about tonight and carrying it away to a clear, tranquil sea I close o slack and I’m completely relaxed

I nod once and reach for the door handle "Okay Let’s do this"

"I don’t kno you do that, but it’s kind of creepy and inspiring all at once"

Senia and I stroll up the ay ararden toward the blue, two-story clapboard beach house I spot a group of five guys standing on the porch with red Solo cups and cigarettes clutched in their hands Froainst the porch railing He was in the sophomore Comp Lit class I dropped out of last October I turn htly as Senia and I clinize me

Senia pulls open the squeaky screen door and I choke on the sweet smell of alcohol and perfuathering of a dozen or so people huddled around the sofa where a guy with a guitar is playing and singing a Jason Mraz song

This h the tall door into my ninth and final foster home As luck would have it, the woo was actually just a neighbor I had no family to take me in after my mother died I’m only fifteen, but I’ caseworker She flat out told me that this would be my last placement If I screw this one up, I’ll be sent to a halfway house until I turn sixteen in fourroo the inside of that halfway house soon

Three guys sit around a coffee table, two of theuitar in his lap The one with the guitar wears a gray beanie and his dark hair falls around his face in jagged wisps He’s hu my mom used to play whenever she cleaned the house: "I Want You"

The thud of ets his attention and he looks straight into my eyes "Are you Claire?" he asks His voice is smooth with just a touch of a rasp

I nod and he iuitar down on the floor in front of hi" kicks in The reason I’ve been in and out of foster hoht years since ht ht me never to trust men or boys She was so honest and candid with s her uncle did to her from the time she was nine until she was fourteen She told s to look out for, all the pro to remember, she told me, was to never let them think you were a victim because that hen they pounced

I followed ht years and I hadn’t been soway I’d kepthtest hint that souy in the beanie doesn’t look like a predator, but looks can be deceiving

He grabs the handle of my backpack and nods toward the stairs "I’m Chris I’ll take you to your roo room coives ht s it off because she knows that’s exactly what I need tonight No long talks about getting over the past or seeing a shrink People have endured far worse than I have There’s devastating fa to complain about--except the fact that I really don’t want to be here tonight

I spend the entire night hiding nize enters the roo how I dropped out because I couldn’t pay my student loans No one here knows the truth The one s I did last year was drop out before word could spread around caht, Joanie Tipton finally enters the living room and casts a lazy smile in my direction, and now it’s time to leave Joanie is the only person here, besides Senia, who knohy I dropped out I had to beg Joanie, on my knees, not to tell anybody It was the second rab Senia’s arm and whisper into her ear, "Don’t look now Mr Jones just arrived I have to get out of here"

Mr Jones is the nicknaot a chin implant the summer before our sophomore year and we decided she now looks like a transvestite version of Bridget Jones She even has Renee Zellweger’s scrunched eyes It would be funnier if she didn’t hold my secret in her French-manicured hands

"I’ll take you home," she whispers back and I shaketo sleep You don’t need to come home for that I’ll walk"

Her eyebrows furrow and she nods "Breaking all the rules tonight, huh?" She’s referring to the fact that I never walk the streets alone at night "I know you’re sleeping in so I guess I’ll see you when I get back on Monday Love you"

I kiss the top of her head as I rise frolare at Joanie fro at uy who’s at least ten years older than us God, I wish I had a secret on her

I duck out of the house and pretend to adjustout next to a car in the driveway The last thing I need is to be recognized as I’ht, I pick up my pace Our apartment is only two and a half blocks away The only reason Senia drove here is because of her et away frohts until it’s too late

Chapter Three

Relentless Destiny

THE TIRES SQUEAL, SKIDDING ACROSS the asphalt as the truck plunges toward me I’m frozen as I wait for the iht that crossespunished forstops and my nose fills with the stench of burnt rubber I open rille of the truck is inches away from me and a cloud of smoke surrounds the front of the truck I hear a car door opening, but I can’t see anyone approaching through the sht in front ofwith adrenaline, but I don’t have a scratch on rabs my arms "You look like you’re in shock I should take you to the hospital"

"No!" I shout as I shrug o home"

"I’ll take you"

"You almost killed me!"

He lets out a sheepish chuckle and it infuriates me "Which is why you should let me take you ho vehicles"

"You think it’s funny that you alhter And, hey, I saved you frouess this balances that out Now everything is right with the universe" I curl ust and he smiles as he nods toward the cabin of the truck "Coht I proain for at least another twelve hours You’re safe for now"