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Park’sat the to say hi?’ she asked

Park shook his head, but didn’t turn away He didn’t think Eleanor would want hiet her in trouble

What if her stepdad was here, too?

Eleanor looked different, drabber than usual

There was nothing hanging fropie-tied to her wrists …

She still looked beautiful His eyes missed her as much as the rest of him He wanted to run to her and tell her – tell her how sorry he was and how much he needed her

She didn’t see hiht hisot horoceries, then she spent the rest of the afternoon in her room with the door closed

His dad went in to check on her at dinner time, and an hour later, when they both ca to Pizza Hut for dinner ‘On Christmas Eve?’ Josh said They always had waffles and watched movies on Christmas Eve They’d already rented Billy Jack ‘Get in the car,’ his dad said Park’sher eye ot hoht to his roo Eleanor – but his mom ca a single wave

She held out a Christmas present ‘This … is for your Eleanor,’ she said ‘Froift He took it, but shook his head

‘I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to give it to her’

‘Your Eleanor,’ she said, ‘she coently

‘I co family,’ his mom said

‘Three little sisters Three little brothers’ She held out her hand, as if she were patting six heads

She’d had a wine cooler with dinner, and you could tell She almost never talked about Korea

‘What were their naently in her lap

‘In big fa …

everybody spread so thin Thin like paper, you know?’ She esture ‘You know?’

Maybe tine coolers

‘I’h,’ she said ‘Nobody gets what they need When you always hungry, you get hungry in your head’ She tapped her forehead ‘You know?’

Park wasn’t sure what to say

‘You don’t know,’ she said, shaking her head

‘I don’t want you to know … I’m sorry’

‘Don’t be sorry,’ he said

‘I’m sorry for hoelcomed your Eleanor’

‘Mom, it’s okay This isn’t your fault’

‘I don’t think I say this right …’

‘It’s okay, Mindy,’ Park’s dad said softly from the doorway ‘Come to bed, honey’ He walked over to the bed and helped Park’s mom up, then stood with his arm wrapped protectively around her ‘Your mom just wants you to be happy,’ he said to Park ‘Don’t puss out on our account’

His mother frowned, like she wasn’t sure whether that counted as a dirty word

Park waited until the TV was off in his parents’

roorabbed his coat and slipped out the back door, on the far side of the house

He ran until he got to the end of the alley

Eleanor was so close

Her stepdad’s truck was in the driveway

Maybe that was good; Park wouldn’t want hi there on the front porch All the lights were off, as far as Park could tell, and there was no sign of the dog

…

He climbed the steps as quietly as possible

He knehich room was Eleanor’s She’d told him once that she slept by the , and he knew she had the top bunk He stood to the side of the , so he wouldn’t cast a shadow He was going to tap softly, and if anyone but Eleanor looked out, he was going to run for his life

Park tapped the top of the glass Nothing happened The curtain, or the sheet or whatever it was, didn’tHe tapped a little harder and got ready to run The side of the sheet opened just a sliver, but he couldn’t see in

Should he run? Should he hide?

He stepped in front of theThe sheet opened wider He could see Eleanor’s face, she looked terrified

‘Go,’ she ain Then she pointed away ‘School,’ she said At least that’s what he thought she said Park ran away

Eleanor

All Eleanor could think was that if soh thiswas she supposed to escape and call 911?

Not that the police would even come after last time But at least she could wake that bastard Gill up and eat his goddamn brownies

Park was the last person she expected to see standing there

Her heart leapt out to hiet them both killed

Shots had been fired for less

As soon as he disappeared from the , she slipped off the bed like that stupid cat and put her bra and shoes on in the dark She earing a great big T-shirt and a pair of her dad’s old flannel paja room, so she put on a sweater

Maisie had fallen asleep watching TV, so it was relatively easy to climb over her empty bed and out the

He’ll kickacross the porch That would be his best Christ on the school steps Where they’d sat and read Watchmen As soon as he saw her, he stood up and ran to her Like, actually ran

He ran to her – and took her face in both of his hands And then he was kissing her before she could say no And she was kissing hioing to kiss anybody again, especially not him, because look how , and so was Park When she put her hands on his cheeks, they et

And warm He was so warm

She bent her neck back and kissed hi it wrong

He pulled away to say he was sorry, and she shook her head no, because even though she really did want him to be sorry, she wanted to kiss hiainst his ‘I rong about everything Everything’

‘I’ mad at you all the time’

‘It’s okay,’ he said, ‘sometimes I like it’

‘But not always’

He shook his head