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“Why are you talking to Clara and Rita about this?”

“Everybody is talking about it Uncle Jesse co since the football team won conference”

“What else is everyone saying?”

“That Jesse killed Mitch and three other guys”

“It was an accident”

“I also heard that he went to jail for beating a kid up to get his tennis shoes in high school I heard he beat the kid so bad he had to have total reconstructive surgery “

“That’s coerated”

“I heard he got three girls pregnant”

Dad finally turned to her, furious “That’s not true!”

“I’ you what I hear” Aer she was

“Jesse was a tough kid in high school and he did sorets But he’s not half as bad as what—”

“Then why can’t I meet him?”

Her father sed She knehat he would say So too unpredictable and how he’d hurt Moet hurt

“He will meet you when he’s ready When he’s…better Okay?”

Amanda didn’t want to wait until Jesse was better She wanted to know his If he was as bad as people said he was

Well, that was part of it

The other part of it had to do with knowing exactly how it felt to be tired, cold and flea-bitten

“A at her in that old way of his It had been four years since she ran away, four years since she finally told the truth and Dad still sooing to do next

“I’m serious Leave Jesse alone until your o over there by yourself”