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“He goes by Uncle Andrew, but his real naeant Andrew Epstein”

“Uncle Andrew? What a sick fu—…”, he doesn’t finish the word, refusing to curse in front of me, a lady, and I actually notice it and appreciate it But he doesn’t have to complete his sentence to let me know Andrew Epstein’s fate is coood for him

“So you’re on the run, nowhere to go, and worried this creepyou?”

“Exactly except I’ me”

“How do you know?”

“This isn’t the first town I’ve fled too I leftover an hour away and in the first week I caught hi at me twice Then he finally came into the restaurant and asked where I’d been Told raduate That I was already a year behind because of everything that had happened during my childhood, or lack thereof, but that he could ‘help ht with the teachers and he could oing to do anyway My grades were perfect, but asn’t perfect was the learning environment”

“Did you report him to anyone?”

“I scheduled a sit doith the principal, and he actually agreed to see eant Andrew Epstein’s nauy’ That lead irl with a wild iether and I just froze up and the principal started talking about how great he was and I just sat there like I was having an out of body experience Finally he stopped talking and asked me what I wanted to say about him, and I just asked if there was any information about how students could becouidance counselor, not picking up on what I’d really come to him to say”

“So it’s two of them?”

“I’m not sure, but he was so quick to stick up for hi cookies before dinner, and then when you ask about it they simply say ‘no’ with chocolate smeared all over their face, or they volunteer way too uilty as the kid with the evidence visible right on their face?”

“That’s exactly right You understand people very well”

“You have to to survive when you have no parents, no faet they can easily use and abuse and then du to believe a ‘troubled teen’, especially when it’s her word against a well-loved and well-respected off-duty cop”

Daniel leans in closer “The days of no one to turn to are gone I’ot me, your Daddy when you need to have little time, and Daniel when you need to discuss real life situations like these You understand me?”

I nod

“Good Now let’s get outta here,” he says, his eyes drawing a circle around the entire et outta here, this city, this life, for good”