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That kind of convinced

He didn’t actually say the word aliens, or even abduction Instead, he talked about internet overnment cover-ups, and he’d even mentioned crop circles at one point, so it wasn’t exactly like he was being subtle either

Aliens My dad thought I’d been abducted by aliens Awesouess it sort of explained the nonshowery look he had about hine And I was starting to also maybe-sort-of see why my mom had kicked him out

But frouilt that this was all soued with him If only I hadn’t forced hiotten out in the middle of Chuckanut Drive

If only

It was a terrible game to play One he’d probably played a million times over

I twisted around in my seat, and put my hand on his It was like a role reversal of all the tiwould be okay I wanted to convey that too To let hiain

His bloodshot eyes found mine and stabbed my heart "They work like that, you know? They just take people"

I tried to shake ht not have my reensaucer and whiskedme back and deposit me behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip

"Ben," my mo useful to add "Maybe you should go ho"

My dad shook his head violently, vehe with Kyra" His hand flipped over and squeezed ain," he vowed

The e out The last time I was here the whole team had shown up to check on our shortstop, Carrie Dreyer She’d co into second and hit the base weird When she went down screaathered around her, we realized that her bone was sticking clean through her skin It had been a coeries and a titanium rod, and couldn’t come back that season

And now, because I’d disappeared, I had no idea if Carrie had ever played again

The ER was slohen myIt was strange to fill out my own admission forms, or any forms for that matter, since I’d never done that before But now that I was an adult--which was even stranger--n for me They also weren’t allowed to make decisions onto ive permission for them even to be in the room while I was exa I’d heard other kids at school talk about before, about how cool it would be to make their own decisions and not have to answer to their parents any, I was terrified I felt er trapped insidedress-up inand send lad when they stuck h to talk about all this with the people ere there to supportto explain it in front of colass door that led to the hallway outsidesound whenever someone came in or out, and I juht behind us, so after a nurse had taken my vitals--my blood pressure, temperature, pulse--and noted thelass whooshed as it slid open "Mind if I come in?"

I waved hi to check on me shortly

Gary Wahl didn’t seem any different than he had the last ti for it, but other than that the same as he always had

He eased onto the stool next to the bed; his eyes, so similar to Austin’s, found otta make it official" He tapped his pen on a notebook he was holding "I’llin a way that made me think of Austin, andht about then, and I couldn’t wait for all this to be over with so I could be alone to call hiain

"You said you don’t remember where you’ve been all this tiht, Kyra?" His voice was so serious, so not-Austin’s-dad’s voice, that I alled In all the years I’d known him, I’d never heard him use his cop voice before

I took a breath and bit the inside of ht"

He scribbledTellyou reht I reame I opened my mouth to tell hi to meet us at the Pizza Palace But ht"