The house is a mess and I'm sure it got even worse after my dad tore through it. The cop said my dad went searching the place for money while I was passed out. I don't know why he thought I had money. The most he would've found is a couple dollars in change.
"We can go wait out there," Danny's mom says. "There's no rush. Whenever you're ready."
"You want to go?" I ask Jake.
"Maybe. I'm kind of hungry."
"We can fix that," Danny's mom says, putting her arm around him. "Let's go get some lunch."
"Can I come back later?" Jake asks me.
"I can bring him," Danny says, knowing that was the only thing holding me back from telling him yes. I don't want to burden his parents any more than I have to, but I don't think they see it that way. They see Jake and me as family. We're lucky to have them.
"Come here," I say to Jake. He steps up to me and I bring him in for a hug. "Be good. Don't make a mess. And tell them thank you."
"I know all that," he says in the whiny voice I'm used to.
That's the Jake I know. He's going to be okay. We'll both get past this and be okay.
Jake leaves with Danny’s parents, but Danny and Brook stay behind.
"We have to head back to school," Danny says. "We just wanted to stop by and see Jake."
"Can I talk to him before we leave?" Brook asks Danny.
"Go ahead. I'll be out in the hall."
When he's gone, Brook sits across from me on the bed. "How'd it go? Did he tell you anything?"
"Yeah. He told me a lot, actually, more than I thought he would. Sounds like he got away after just a couple days with my dad. It's a good thing he did because my dad was already threatening to hurt him if Jake didn't do what he said."
"But he didn't, right? He didn't hurt him?"
"No, but he told Jake he killed me. He was trying to scare him and it worked."
"At least he's home now, and safe."
"He'll be okay. It'll just take some time." I pause. "I told him about the offers I got."
"And what did he say?"
"He's okay if we move. He wants to go to Texas. He even sounded excited about it, especially when he found out you might be going there too."
Brook looks down, biting her lip like she does when she's nervous.
"What is it?" I ask. "What's wrong?"
She waits a moment, then says, "My mom might force me to go back."
"Back to Haverhill?"
"Yes. We had another fight about it. I told her I'd be miserable there but she didn't seem to care." Brook's eyes rise to mine. "She could force me to do it. I'd have to go."
"So go. It doesn't mean we won't see each other."
"It might. My mom's on a mission to get me back with Chad. It's not going to happen but I could see her trying to keep me away from you."
"How would she do that?"
