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"No" She laughs

"Can I keep asking?"

She nods It’s a quick jerk, al "Good night," she says

"Good night," I call to her retreating back She walks into the darkness until it ss her up

Reagan

My knees are still wobbly when I get to the house I go in the kitchen door and findat the table with cups of coffee They’re talking quietly

"Have fun?" my mom asks She stares at me over the rim of her coffee cup She looks a lot like me, with her dark-blond hair and her sun-kissed skin My dad says she looked just like ht like mine, and she’s tall and y like me, even after all these years

I nod in answer to her question "We were roasting marshmallows"

She quirks an eyebrow at , it was just called flirting"

Heat creeps up "

"Mrowls playfully

"What’s his name?" she asks

I’m purposefully obtuse "Gonzo"

My dad snorts "Gonzo is the fifteen-year-old as hanging out with Pete, the mentor for the boys from the detention center"

"Pete, huh?" Mom asks Mom knows that Pete’s the one who found ether "You get any strange vibes from him?"

"Mom," I warn "Leave it alone"

"Pete’s a mentor? Or is he an ex-con?" Mom looks curiously at Dad

Dad nods "He’s out of jail on parole"

Mom inhales quickly Dad shoots her a look "He didn’t do anything violent, did he?" Mom asks My heart stops It trips over in my chest and then stops completely I don’t dare to even breathe until I hear the answer

"I wouldn’t have admitted him if he was violent," Dad says He points to a stack of folders by his elbow "I just finished going through his file again, to see if there’s more I can do to help hiive you an overview?"

I shake my head "I don’t need to" I’d lare at Dad "Even though Dad threatened to chop his nuts off"

Mom snorts into her coffee

"Hey, it works," he says But he’s grinning

Mo with Chase?"

I shakevoice, "But Pete’s her type"

I pick up the stir stick he discarded on the table and throw it at his at nant" I get up quickly while he’s still rolling that around in his head "Good night," I chirp as I start up the stairs

"It’d be hard for hinant if I chop his nuts off!" Dad yells to h and shake my head

I stop at the top of the stairs and listen "They were awfully close there by the fire," Mo out the " There’s a quiet pause "Did she let hih "She didn’t even try to punch hiressive It all started after my attack with soood at martial arts I can’t help if it some people make me want to drop-kick them

"That’s a start," Mo He’s just a man that doesn’t make me want to run in the other direction That’s all he is He’s nothing ed hi away as fast as I could

"He’s a good kid, it looks like," Dad says on a heavy sigh "He made a stupid mistake"

"He’s kind of hot with all the tattoos," Morowl She shrieks, and I walk away They don’t need an audience for that part

I stop by Lincoln’s room on the way to h the door is open He’s sitting on his floor stacking blocks to make a tower But Link’s towers are not like other towers They are complicated works of art based on numerical theories and stuff I don’t understand

"You have fun at camp today?" I ask We were only there for setup, and caot to walk around and look at the people he’ll see in the e of a chair

He nods He looks in my direction, but he doesn’t make eye contact He doesn’t look people in the eye often When he does, it’s usually a mistake And often ends in a ain He only talks when he wants to

"I love you," I say He looks up, alaze Instead, his eyes dart toward my ear

"I love you, too," he says quietly

Pete

The fire is hot against ernails easing so here since she left, and it’s been a little while For a few ht come back Hell, it’s probably entirely inhouse where she lives It’s fking perfect White picket fence Acres of land Rolling pastures A regular Anne of Green Gables I didn’t read the book I watched the PBS series whenit It ca else to do but sit with her and watch it My brothers gaveI’ on shakes as someone sits down beside me My heart leaps until I realize it’s just Phil He runs a hand through his too-long hair and groans "How’s it going, Pete?" he asks

The fire is just e okay"

"You did a good job tonight" He looks at "

"The camp actually starts to and kick at a rock withwith Bob?"

I look up "Who’s that?"

He points toward the big house "Bob Caster The owner of the farht ht of her er on her

Phil whistles "Better be careful I’ve seen hier than you"