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And I hate it

TWENTY-TWO

Water

now

I ith the loud bang outsidedread takes over as I lie frozen, not breathing

And then the yelling starts

"That’s what an agree!"

"No, it hasn’t Not for her"

"I’ve changed h Sheriff Gabe’s voice is naturally co, he has always kept the volume of it in check Until now "This was your idea"

"And it was a fking stupid one, Dad" A car door slams "I can’t do it"

"You don’t have a choice"

"You’re right! I don’t I’ve already quit o"

Jesse’sback? A s him every day, even as I wonder what caused it Maybe it has soirl in Portland that Amber mentioned

My curiosity pulls me out of bed I run on tiptoes across my apartment to the kitchenthat offers a perfect view of the front of the garage Jesse and Sheriff Gabe are facing off behind Ginny’s truck, the tail end peeking out froain I don’t care as h

"After all I have done" Sheriff Gabe is saying "Your sister’s in the dark! I’ve lied towith the things I’ve done for you Things I still can’t believe I ever did Have you forgotten?"

"How could I ever forget any of this?" Jesse launches the tool in his hand at the wall Even from here, I can see the split in the plaster froate, his head bowed

Sheriff Gabe finally reaches out to place a hand on his son’s shoulder Jesse brushes his face against his own shoulder

He’s crying The cool, quiet guy who’s been in all kinds of trouble is crying

Jesse steps away fro a tool froe, out of view Gabe follows him in

I’m wide awake now But if there’s any more conversation, it’s too quiet to catch Sheriff Gabe walks back to his house, a flashlight guiding his way, leaving Jesse to toil on Ginny’s truck andFor hours

At about three a position and have to give my spot up, afraid I’ll fall asleep and tu his tears away lingering as I drift off

I drag ht, wishing I could sleep longer It’s the first ti to Ginny’s Normally, reality hits me like a splash of cold water seconds after et out of bed before I dwell too long on the bad stuff

Maybe I’ at their stable doors, eager to be free of their confines I have exactly four minutes before Ginny heads down to the barn and sees that I don’t have the

Peering over at the Welleses’ house, I see that Sheriff Gabe’s cruiser is gone, which is normal by this time of day Even on a Saturday Amber’s and Meredith’s cars are parked Amber would have already left for work, and Meredith is no doubt still sleeping The sleek black car sits next to the closed garage, and the smallhidden within its steeply peaked roof is pushed open just enough to let the fresh air in Will he be angry if I wake hiet my truck out?

I’ll ad the steps down----I round the corner and discover that I won’t be knocking on Jesse’s door

Ginny’s truck is already sitting beside our garage

JesseOr maybe Sheriff Gabe did That would be better for all involved, given Ginny’s issues I don’t kno I didn’t hear it, though

Inside, the keys dangle fronition and a small plastic container of blueberries sits on the seat, a piece of paper tucked beneath it "Blueberries?" I frown as I unfold the paper

In case you’re ever stuck again

Below it is a phone nu back and forth between the words and the nuher with each breath as a shiver si tells utme that I had someone just like him in my previous life Someone I trusted

I tuck the paper into the back pocket of ram it into my phone as soon as I can Then I turn the key The truck coine a low, s better than it ever did before Other things are different, too The signal indicator has an actual plastic cover over theheat vent has been replaced And the radioit’s coainst the stiff, tan-colored bench Jesse stayed upon this truck, when he didn’t have to And then he drove it up Ginny’s driveway in the wee hours of thea wasp’s nest