At lunchtime, Beth and I sat across from each other at our usual table. Mark sat down next to me, close enough that his arm brushed mine.
Beth folded her hands and asked, "Ready for more truth?"
"Yup," I said. "I sure am."
Beth reached across the table and took my hand. She took a long breath, like she wasn't sure how to say what she needed to.
"Well… you know how John has a brother?" she began. "His brother sells drugs for John on the side. But that's not all."
She squeezed my hand tighter.
"John also makes Arron run errands for him."
"What kind of errands?" I asked, already scared of the answer.
Beth swallowed. "Drops. Drug drop-offs. Arron delivers drugs to people and picks up the money."
I felt like the air got sucked out of my chest.
My brother — the one who always told me to stay away from drugs — was being forced to help our stepdad sell them?
"Why would John make Arron do that?" I asked, my voice shaking.
Beth looked down. "Because John doesn't care about you, Katie. He never has. And if Arron didn't do those drop-offs… you'd probably be in foster care right now. Arron did those things to keep you in the house. To keep you with him."
My stomach twisted. Arron had been risking his life for me.
"Did my mom and John really not want me?" I whispered.
"Katie…" Mark's voice was soft, worried.
"I'm okay," I said quickly, even though I wasn't. "I just don't understand what I did to John. Why he hates me so much."
---
Meanwhile, at the private hospital, Jennifer waited as Jose wheeled Arron into a quiet room. Arron was scheduled for tests to see when he could be brought out of the medically induced coma.
"Miss Patterson," the doctor said, "the results will take about two hours. I'll call you when they come in."
"Thank you," Jennifer said.
She walked to Arron's bedside and touched his arm gently.
"Don't worry, Arron. You're safe now. Nothing can hurt you. When you wake up, we're leaving this place. Just like I promised you when I left. I told you I'd be back for you."
Arron wanted to move, to speak, to tell Jennifer he couldn't leave without me… without Mark… without Courtney. But his body wouldn't respond.
Only his thoughts screamed in his head.
---
Courtney got off work early and went shopping so we'd have food for the weekend. But the whole time, her mind was spinning. She didn't want to go on the "trip" John forced her into… but she needed answers. She needed to know why Jose and Eric took Arron.
Standing by the freezer aisle, she dug through her bag and finally found her phone. She typed a message to John:
Something came up. I can't leave this weekend. Deal's off.
She finished shopping and then drove to school to pick up Mark and me. While waiting in the pickup lane, she called the police.
"Any updates?" she asked.
"We're questioning someone right now," the officer said. "We'll call you if we learn anything."
Courtney didn't know — nobody knew — that Eric was already dead. And Jose? Gone. Only one person knew where he was and who killed Eric.
---
After school, Mark and I walked to the doors together. We were both quiet until Mark suddenly stopped and turned toward me.
He looked nervous.
"Well… you know the school dance is coming up," he said. "And um… I wanted to know if you'd go with me."
I froze.
I looked at him like he was a ghost.
But inside?
Inside I was screaming.
Mark — the boy I'd liked for years — was asking me out.
"Katie?" he asked softly.
"Oh! Sorry," I said quickly. "Just… caught off guard."
Then I smiled so big my cheeks hurt.
"Yes, Mark. I'll go with you."
His face lit up.
I swear my heart almost exploded.
We walked out of the school and headed toward Courtney's car, both of us smiling like idiots.