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Rafe directed his gaze to her, his eyebrows lifting "Fine If you have to see hi it alone," he repeated as he faced her "Better?"

But Sara didn’t see attention to either of thehed Rafe’s words "You can go, but if I tell you to step out, you need to listen Understood?"

Rafe’s eyes narrowed He shoved his hand in his pocket once ue But when he spoke, his voice belied the frustration she could see s behind his eyes, and she wondered where it was co from exactly--what Sara had done, or said, to incite that kind of irritation "Understood," he bit out at last

And then he turned on the heel of his boot and strode toward the door, leaving the rest of them behind

Chapter 6

SOME DAYS THE RAIN JUST SEEMED TO FIT, AND today felt like one of those days Thesky was dark, layered with the kind of thick black clouds that promised showers Violet didn’t otten up early, needing to clear her head the only way she kne

And now, running on what she considered a path, but as reallyher house, she could feel the dense fog in her head lifting So loops of Dr Lee’s hypnosis tracks on her iPod hadn’t been able to do

She didn’t want to think about last night, so she didn’t think at all, just concentrated on her pace as her feet landed heavily against the compacted forest floor She listened to her breath steady in her ears, hypnotic in its oay, and it helped She felt less jumbled Less fuzzy

She’d barely noticed when the rain finally started It wasn’t until she was soaked, until tiny rivulets of water trickled into her eyes and she had to blink them away, that she realized it wasn’t just a drizzle that fell from the sky, but a full-on downpour Yet even that couldn’t sour her i mood Instead, she went out of her way to find every puddle on her way ho in thes until her shoes were drenched all the way through, and her rubber soles squeaked with each step she took

By the tih the back door of her house, into her kitchen, Violet was laughing and dripping and filthy She slipped off her waterlogged shoes and grabbed a sweatshirt fro her best to towel off with the thick fleece, but it was a poor substitute for a real towel

Her dad was sitting at the table, watching her curiously "You’re in an awfully goodfor soed Her parents had been waiting for her when she’d cootten the call from the police, just as she’d suspected they would "I can’t really say I didn’t deserve what I got, I guess" She tried to sers tapped against the tabletop, his eyebrows raised as Violet dropped onto the chair, water puddling onto the floor beneath her "Jay called while you wereout," her dad said, changing the subject "And Chelsea too In fact, she’s called three ti it was before you had your own cell phone" He shook his head at the receiver sitting in front of hi I proes"

Violet s hiood cop in their household, and here he was playing the part of enforcer Violet knew, just from the strained expression on his face, it wasn’t a role he cared for

The phone rang again, as if on cue, and he sighed as he glanced at the caller ID

"I gotta get ready for school," Violet said, ju shoulder "Don’t worry, I’ll tell her to stop calling Maybe we’ll get sonals" She snapped her fingers "Or, I knoe can tie soo old-school"

"Orout of trouble and we’ll give you your phone back"

Cocking her head to the side, Violet pretended to think about that, and then she winked at hiht herself, realizing those were the exact words Rafe had used the night before "I’ I’ll behave," she a She kissed him on the forehead as he lifted the receiver to his ear, answering it on the third ring "Crossup early meant Violether car door and tugging her hood over her head to keep fro, Violet avoided eye contact with everyone around her asin the rain had e the fact she was in trouble with her parents Or that she’d gotten caught trespassing by the police the night before

She really wasn’t in the mood for superficial chitchat, even with her friends, and she kept her head low as she lanced up to find Jay leaning against the bank of metal lockers, amusement clear in his expression