Tucker frowned. “It wasn’t like that.”
Dad set the shoebox on the floor. “We are working on drugs for Ava. She has plenty of people who love her. You, however, have a history of stealing her from everyone. That is no way for her to live.”
I was beginning to understand the situation. “She forced me into her car.”
Mother gasped. “I’m the one who has kept you safe all your life!”
I shook my head. “It sounds like prison.”
“Your condition is your prison!” she shot back. “I gave up my whole life to help you with it. Your father walked away!”
Father stood his ground. “Ava and I have worked through that.”
We had?
Tucker turned to me. “Ava, you read your old notebook from when you were lost and scared. If you let us show you all the things we planned to help you get your life back, I think you’ll understand.”
I flattened my back against the wall. This was too intense. To ease the pressure, I pushed my fingers against my temples.
“What will help you, Ava?” Father asked. “We will do this any way you like.”
I gulped in air, trying to think. My head felt empty, like the sky. I had so little to hold onto. I sorted through my memories, settling on that hug in the diner. “Can Big Harry be with me?” I asked.
“Of course,” Tucker said. “I’m glad you believed in him. He’s the best.”
Mother clasped her hands in her lap. “Do I get to see Ava at all?”
“That remains to be seen,” Marcus said. “Clearly you can’t be trusted.”
“Maybe if I had a role in her life, no one would need to worry about anything,” she said.
“You have to earn it,” Father shot back. “Just like I did.”
I moved to the window, the white heat of the morning bleaching the landscape. The purity of it was easier to look at than the expressions of all the people behind me. “Mother, do you have a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Give Father your number. You can ask him when you want to know something about me.”
“And that’s it, after all these years?” Her voice wobbled.
“That’s about the best I can do.” I headed for the door. “I’d like to go back to my apartment. I’d like Big Harry to come over, if he’s willing.” I turned to Tucker. “And I’ll watch the videos now.”
His shoulders dropped in relief. “You’ll go with us?”
I nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
When I was outside, the open sky in front of me, wind blowing dust across my skin, I felt calm again. The otherswere taking their time inside the house, so I plucked one of the biggest blooms from the rose bushes. Something told me this bright red flower wasn’t going to last much longer, and it would like to go with me.
Maybe I would come here every once in a while, with Tucker or Father or Big Harry, and care for the spindly bushes, help them grow strong. Something from this part of my life should be salvaged.
Epilogue: Tucker
I switch my cell phone to selfie mode and start recording.
“It’s a big day.” I turn it to show Ava sitting on the floor of our house. She sticks out her tongue. I love it. Twenty-two going on thirteen.
I turn the camera back to me. “It’s day three of Ava’s latest reset and we’re about to engage the new sequence. We’re not sure we’ll always be able to do all these steps, so we’re recording this one for posterity.”
