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the police will only bring the ooze and his sickening wrath quicker to our doorstep.
    “He lives in the same apartment complex as your mom, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to live with her again and not have to worry about HC TITLE-AUTHOR
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    him?”
    Having no idea how he knows I don’t live
    with my mom, I fight hard not to glance at him. Refusing to indicate he’s right.
    “We didn’t even know he was dating your
    mom. He, uh, sees other women.”
    I keep from rolling my eyes. There’s a
    shock.
    “Elisabeth,” he says after my nonresponse.
    “Beth.” I hate my given name. “My name is Beth.”
    “Beth, your one phone call has been
    standing in the lobby since five a.m.”
    Isaiah! My eyes flash to Officer Monroe’s.
    The walls I built to protect myself crumble and fatigue sets in as the iciness I’ve clung to all night melts. Fear and hurt rush to take its place.
    I want Isaiah. I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.
    I blink, realizing the stinging sensation is tears. Wiping at my face, I try to find my strength—my resolve, but I only find a heavy emptiness. “When can I go home?”
    Someone knocks. Officer Monroe cracks the door open and exchanges a few heated
    whispers before nodding. Seconds later, my HC TITLE-AUTHOR
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    aunt, an older and cleaner version of my
    mother, walks in. “Beth?”
    Officer Monroe leaves, closing the door
    behind him.
    Shirley comes straight to me. I stand and let her hug me. She smells like home: stale
    cigarettes and lavender fabric softener. I bury my face in my aunt’s shoulder, wishing for nothing more than to lie in the bed in her basement for a week.
    A cigarette is a close second.
    “Where’s Isaiah?” Though I’m grateful for my aunt, my heart was set on seeing my best friend.
    “Outside. He called me the moment he heard from you.” Shirley squeezes me before
    breaking our embrace. “What a mess.”
    “I know. Have you seen Mom?”
    She nods, then leans in and whispers in my ear, “Your mom told me what really
    happened.”
    The muscles around my mouth tighten and I try to stop my lower lip from trembling. “What do I do?”
    Shirley runs her hands up and down my
    arms. “Stick with your story. They brought HC TITLE-AUTHOR
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    Trent and your mom in for questioning. With you not talking, they couldn’t find anything to arrest them on. Your mom’s twitchy though. If you talk, they’ll send her to jail for breaking probation and the destruction of property. She’s scared of going to jail.”
    So am I, but Mom can’t hack jail. “What’s going to happen to me?”
    Her arms drop to her sides and she places the table between us. It’s only a few steps, but it creates a gap resembling a canyon. I turned seventeen last month. Before tonight, I felt like an adult: old and big. I don’t feel so big anymore. Right now I feel small and very, very alone. “Shirley?”
    “Your uncle and I don’t have money for a
    lawyer. Isaiah and Noah, even that girl Noah brings around, they offered what they had, but your uncle and I got scared once the cops told us you took a bat to Trent. Then I had an idea.”
    My heart sinks as if someone yanked a
    trapdoor right below it. “What did you do?”
    “I know you don’t want anything to do with your dad’s side, but his brother, Scott—he’s a good man. Left that baseball team and became a businessman. He has a lawyer. A fancy one.”
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    “Scott?” My mouth gapes.
    “How…what…” My breathing becomes
    shallow as I try to make sense of the insanity falling out of my aunt’s lips. “Impossible. He left.”
    “He did,” she says slowly. “But he moved
    back to his hometown last month and he called me to find you. He wanted you to go live with him and his wife, but we blew him off. Your mom talked to him when he got persistent and she told him you ran away.”
    My lip curls at the thought of him anywhere near me. “Good choice. So why involve Scott now? We don’t need him. We can