Page 11 (1/1)

In her bed, Rowan lifts her head off the pillow, and I can see her sleepy face scrunch up, confused "Huh?"

I glance at her, but my mind is occupied "Sorry Go to sleep"

Obediently, she drops her head back on the pillow and is asleep again aroom, move a pile of newspapers fro the sound is on mute like it’s supposed to be It takes forever, but finally the page loads I diht and search for the weather forecast

When I find it, I pull up the extended forecast and all I can do is stare There’s a chance of snow nine out of the next ten days

"Wow That’s just great" I’ it down properly, which would really piss Rowan off And then I just sit there in the dark, wondering how much ti how I’ to save their livesbecause I saw a vision A vision of their restaurant, which supposedly

Yeah, that’s going to be easy

Twelve

When I get up in the , I hardly have time to think about it, because today is one of the busiest Sundays on the pizza delivery calendar Super Bowl

Moo anymore out of protest--if the church won’t accept my brother, they can’t have me, either Mom and Dad support our decision I wish they’d join us But old habits are hard to break, and their religious fear runs deep They’ll come around eventually, I think--I mean, we don’t really talk about it They’re not horrible like some parents But it still hurts Trey Roants to stay home in protest too, but they won’t let her until she’s sixteen, and then she can decide

But I don’t have tiet our homework done and h and chopping vegetables My mind wanders as ork in silence, everybody a little sleepy thisas I a in a kitchen together like this, and we’d be laughing and flirting and leaving sweet littleboard in words reen pepper slices And I hate when I do that, because it hurts sodown onhim God! I just can’t I pulverize the hell out of a mushroom and have to put ers off

"Everything okay over there?" Tony asks "I feel sorry for your cutting board He didn’t reat" I shakethe anxiety flow out of theer and has more employees than we do I think Sawyer has two older brothers, but Sawyer is the only one left living at home, and I’m not sure if his brothers still work there All I know is that Sawyer doesn’t have to work quite asabout places he’s gone Dances he’s been to Parties, and stuff like that But I bet he’s working today

I shouldn’t say I have to work as ht off anytime if I asked But I don’t have a life or really many friends--no close friends, anyway, unless you count Trey So I figure I e, because there won’t be enough o around for all three of us

Today I’m actually kind of excited to work It’sdelivery I remember last year Trey was insane Our cousin Nick--Mary’s son--helped out as a backup driver like he does soht, after my successful delivery, I told my mom I was ready She was a little skeptical, but I think I convinced her I’ht off, which he seemed really happy about

So they need et down to the restaurant afterpreorders for later

It’s funny--sometimes I see how it is at fast-food restaurants and on those reality cooking shohen the aspiring chefs are sla around, not co out orders--and everybody hates that guy Here at Deo into superhero mode e’re slaah when she’s on the phone, because if we can really get her going, she’ll snort "Hey, Trey, do you wanna see--" I say

"Harry Potter?"

"No--"

"Boobies?"

I crack up, and Tony shakes his head and gives a reluctant laugh, but Rowan stays concentrated on her phone order She’s always been wound up pretty tight, and it takes a while to get her loose enough Apparently today is not that day By the time the lunch croindles and we’re all in the kitchen stocking up supplies andcall after call, ignoring us while we’redumb "dot-com" and "that’s what she said" jokes after every twelve-inch meatball sub order she reads back

Yet, in the back of ht