And thatwasstrange, the more that Jem thought about it.Itwasstrange that he hadn’t thought about Wendell in all those years, and all it took was seeing him once, and a switch had flipped in Jem’s brain.Going after him like that at Rainbow House.Losing his shit like a fucking animal.Looking up his address after Tean went to sleep.Going over there.Breaking in.Jem’s chest was tight.He could feel his pulse in his throat, and his face was hot.Something was wrong.Something was really wrong.
Okay, we’re done.That’s it.The end.It’s over.
He took the corner at the end of the hall.This one ran along the back of the gym, where the second entrance was.A bearded guy in a Jordan School District windbreaker glanced at Jem and frowned—it was the frown that said,No parents allowed—but Jem nodded at him and kept walking, and the man didn’t say anything.
What was so strange about it was that nothing had really happened.Wendell hadn’t locked Jem in his basement for twenty years.He hadn’t diddled him.Hadn’t even really copped a feel.Hell, if anything, Jem should be proud of how he handled himself.Nine years old, and he had more fucking fight in him than a lot of adults.That was something to be proud of.
So, stop.Stop thinking about it.
And Decker had been so much worse.Blake and Antonio and Tanner.Being held down.His legs forced apart.The three of them taking turns.Deckerhad fucked him up.But look, shit happened, and you picked yourself up and you moved on.And things were good now with Tean.Things were great.He was happy with Tean.He loved Tean.He trusted Tean.Tean wouldn’t do anything to hurt him.Not ever.It would be like—like Scipio spinning around and snapping at Jem.He flapped the hem of his shirt, trying to get some cool air on his skin.They were going to get married.And that meant Tean wouldn’t do anything bad.
The house had looked perfect.That’s what he remembered.The lawn would be great for playing ball.And the big TV.The N64.That view over the valley.It wasn’t loud.There weren’t a million other kids crammed into bunk beds.Nobody was shouting.
What do you think about getting a dog?
And that had been before LouElla’s, so of course he’d said yes.He’d even had a name picked out.Crackers.
“Coming through,” a man said.
Jem was standing in the middle of the hall at a full stop.Behind him, a couple of guys were carrying one of the wrestling mats.Jem stepped to the side, and they kept going.He ran his hand across the back of his neck.He took a breath.
Okay.Okay.Okay.
But he’d forgotten about that.About the dog.
Focus.
A draft hit him.
A whisper of cold air.
The memories snapped off, and another part of his brain snapped on.He dipped his hand into his pocket and found the barrette he carried there, the one with the sharpened metal.A shiv he could fit in the palm of his hand.
At the next intersection, he found a pair of doors propped open.Winter air rushed into the building, freezing the sweat in Jem’s hair, cooling his hot cheeks.The doors led out to a service drive behind the school, where a box truck was parked, hazards flashing.The two men Jem had seen earlier were loading the wrestling mat into the back.
This was why he had to do these patrols.
This was why they both had to come, nights like these, because there were so many doors, so many entrances and exits, so many places they could get in.So many spots they could be hiding.
A familiar laugh caught Jem’s ear.
Outside, he caught it again: laughter he recognized, the scuff of sneakers against concrete, murmured conversation, all of it barely audible over the rumble of the big diesel.It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust.
The three boys made a loose triangle maybe twenty yards down the service drive: a Latino boy with the hood of his wrestling sweatshirt half pulled up, kicking the curb rhythmically; a White boy who definitelywasn’ta wrestler, because he was dressed in jeans and a Walmart coat and wore his wallet on a chain; and Daniel, who was laughing at something one of them had said as he put a vape to his mouth.The electronic tip glowed red as Daniel inhaled, and for that moment, Daniel’s face glowed red too.And then the vape went dark.
Daniel saw him half a second before Jem reached him.
“Jem, hey—”
He tried to put his hand behind his back, but Jem was faster—still.He twisted the vape out of Daniel’s grip, and he caught Daniel’s arm and hauled him toward the doors.
“Get your ass inside,” he told the wrestler.
“What the fuck?”said the boy with his wallet on a chain.
“Fuck off,” Jem told him.
Daniel was trying to wriggle free, but Jem tightened his grip and half-shoved, half-propelled the boy back into the high school.He didn’t let go of him until they were down one of the side hallways, alone.
