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“Without me?”

“What? No? Is that what you want?”

“Wherever you are is where I want to be,” I say honestly I have no proble transparent The rest of o It’s distant and removed from my present Of course it does, I’ve been all but locked away from it for nearly a month

“Then let’s go inside, grab a room, a real shower in a clean bathroom, and call room service”

“I like that plan” It’s a small decision, but it’s ours, and that feels better than turning eighteen and leaving my mother’s house You never appreciate freedohtly lit hotel is a beacon as we ht I want it to be a sign of what’s to corief ripping into me Is it okay to accept this as justice? How can one ever truly get over the loss of a child? Every instance of joy feels wrong because he’s no longer here I coast on autopilot as we step inside and I book us a suite After the cabin and the crappy hotel with questionable cleanliness, we deserve an upgrade

Chapter Fourteen

Quinn

“Where are you?”

“Mom, I’m in a hotel”

“Where? You disappeared off the face of the planet before I’ain”

“I didn’t want to do that, Mom It was necessary to keep me and the rest

of the family safe”

“A short co on”

I sigh “There are rules, Mom Every call is monitored and scripted, believe me It wasn’t a picnic for me either”

“I knoasn’t I’m sorry I’m justyou scared me so badly, and ent to your apart orried No one would tell us anything, and the police refused to file aperson’s report”