A World Without You Read Online Free PDF Page A

a bit on my hair. I pull away, but she sticks close to me. “We should probably go soon.”
    â€œAs I was telling you earlier, Bo was rather close to Sofía before her passing,” Dr. Franklin says. “I’d like you to consider leaving him here on the weekends for the time being. I don’t think it would be wise to interrupt his therapy.”
    â€œOh no,” she says. “I would hate that.”
    â€œHate what?” Dad asks, approaching us while holding a plate loaded with chips and dip, cheese, and slices of salami.
    â€œHe wants to keep Bo here,” Mom says, her voice pitching a notch higher.
    Dad’s face immediately darkens. “Do we have to?” he asks the doctor aggressively.
    Dr. Franklin’s eyes widen, just a touch. “Well, no,” he says. “But I would like to continue his therapy, and I feel like he needs a little extra focus.”
    â€œAnd why is that?” It’s so strange to see Dad like this, trying to pick a fight with a man wearing tweed while holding a plate of charcuterie. “He’s not locked up in some crazy house, we can bring him home.” Dad says this more to himself than to Dr. Franklin.
    â€œOf course you can,” Dr. Franklin says. “This is in no way mandatory. It’s just that Sofía’s death has greatly affected him, and—”
    â€œDidn’t look affected,” Dad says, his tone harsh. “He didn’t even stay for the whole service. Where is that boy, anyway? I thought you ran a tight ship here, Doc, but you don’t even know where Bo is, do you?”
    â€œI think he just needed a moment to collect himself,” Dr. Franklin says.
    The doctor seems like someone who’s pretty good at keeping his emotions under control, but I can see that he’s not usedto being questioned the way that Dad’s grilling him now. But I also wish Dad would just shut up.
    â€œBo’s a good boy,” Mom says, taking a tiny step closer to Dad, her arm barely brushing against his. “If there’s something wrong, he’d tell us. I’m sure he’s okay.”
    Okay?
Okay?
Some girl in his class just died, and he couldn’t even keep it together long enough to stay for her whole memorial service. He’s clearly
not
okay. I shake my head in disgust.
    Ever since it became clear that Bo needed help, it’s like Dad thinks he can argue his way out of Bo being sick, and Mom thinks she can pretend her way into a different reality. They’ve stuck Bo in this school that looks like a mansion instead of an asylum, and that’s fine, but at least don’t pretend it’s anything else. And certainly don’t pretend it’s
okay
.
Okay
is so far out of our vocabulary right now that it’s practically a foreign word.
    Dr. Franklin holds his hands out, palms up, as if he’s pleading with my parents to see his side. “Regardless, I do think it’s best that Bo stay here
this
weekend, at least. The memorial was just today, and there will be some changes in the school over the next few weeks that I’d like to help prepare him for.”
    â€œChanges?” Mom asks.
    â€œWe’re having an . . . inspection of the school. Simply routine, but with any change comes some adjustment, and . . .”
    â€œFine, fine, we leave the boy here this weekend,” Dad says. “You know, I wouldn’t have driven all this way for some ceremony and paper lanterns if I’d known we weren’t bringing Bo back with us.”
    â€œBut—” Mom starts to protest.
    â€œWe’ll get him next weekend, right, Doc?” Dad says.
    â€œHow about I call you next Thursday?” the doctor responds.
    â€œHow about I just pick him up on Friday.” Dad turns around and strides off, dumping his plate in the garbage can by the front door.
    Mom’s stroking my hair even more aggressively now, so hard that my head is