surprised. My parents are back in town, plus Beth spent the whole day and into the evening at the hospital Saturday and needed a day to rest. I hoped she would come though. I only saw her for a few seconds on Saturday and that was in front of Scott. She seemed so broken. I need to hold her and tell her I love her and I need to hear the words back.

I’ll catch her before school begins and spend the day trying to put a smile on her face. Lacy, Chris, and Logan will want to help. Between the four of us we can distract her.

I open the fridge, pull out a Gatorade, grab my keys from the counter, and swerve to avoid steamrolling my mother. “Sorry. I’ll see you at the game later.”

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my parents. There is no way either of them would make a scene in public.

“It’s early. Sit down.” Mom brushes past me.

She’s polished for the day. Dress pants.

Sweater set. Pearls. Mom will be on the social club prowl by lunch. Dad walks into the

kitchen from the formal dining room and

barely glances at Mom. The vacation was

supposed to save their marriage. Last night they slept in separate bedrooms.

My keys jingle in my hand. “I have some

stuff to take care of before school. Can we talk later?”

Mom eases into a seat at the table and

gestures for me to follow. I cock my hip

against the frame of the door instead.

“Fine.” Mom opens her right hand and like an accordion my condoms fly onto the table.

“Would you care to explain?”

My keys dig into my hand as I try to keep my anger in check. “You went through my

room?”

“We’re your parents. We have the right.”

I survey Dad and he patiently stares at me from the other side of the room. Panic

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be damned if they see it on my face. How

much did they go through? Did they find my plaque from winning the writing competition?

Did they turn on my computer? Did they find my stories? This is exactly how they treated Mark when he first came home from college this summer. Right before he told them he was gay.

“I counted them,” Mom says. “There’s one

missing.”

I’ve never hated my mother before and, right now, I do. “What do you want?”

“Who is the girl?”

“I’m not telling you.” Not when Mom is

going to downgrade Beth to the girl I used a condom with. Mom will take something that was beautiful and twist it into something dirty.

“Is it a girl?” Dad asks.

My grip on the Gatorade tightens. “What is wrong with you?”

Dad pushes away from the door frame with

muscles tensed. Mom hops out of her seat and directly into the path of me and Dad. “We heard a rumor yesterday when we went to

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have discussed it with you yesterday, but you were out. I did what I had to do to get some answers.”

“You wait for me, Mom. You don’t go

through my stuff.”

“Are you dating Beth Risk?” she demands.

“Or is she the girl you’re experimenting

with?” asks Dad.

Mom spins. “Andrew!”

“Some girls you date. Others you have sex with. Boys do this.”

“I’m aware of your behavior in high

school,” Mom says. “But my son will not be sleeping with one girl and dating another in public. Gwen deserves better than that. I deserved better than that!”

“Stop it!” I’m tired of the fighting.

“It was one night, Miriam!” Dad yells.

“Twenty-five years ago.”

I throw the Gatorade in my hand across the room. Glass shatters in the china cabinet and Mom holds her hands over her head. “Do you guys even hear yourselves anymore? Did you even bother listening to Mark? Do you even hear me? I’m not dating Gwen and leave Beth out of this!”

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“Ryan!” Dad bellows, but Mom puts her

hand up to silence him.

“Ryan,” she says slowly. Her hand plays

with the pearls around her neck. “Beth Risk isn’t who you think she is. Gwen grew

concerned when you continued to date Beth at school even after we forbade you to see her, so she went to her parents…again.”

I swear under my breath. Gwen doesn’t even understand the destruction she’s created.

Mom continues, “Don’t be mad at Gwen.

She cares for you and she did the right thing.

See, her father knows the truth about Beth. She didn’t move to New York with Scott all those years ago. Her father went to prison and her mother moved herself and Beth to Louisville.

Gwen’s mother knows the attendance clerk at Beth’s old school in Louisville.

“I’m sorry, Ryan, but sometimes children are destined to become nothing more than their own parents. Beth is a drug user. She’s been arrested and her reputation with boys at her old school…”

I don’t wait to hear anything else. “Does Gwen know any of this?” Because she didn’t before. Otherwise, she would have told me in HC TITLE-AUTHOR

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order to break Beth and me up.

“Yes. She was there when her parents told us yesterday.”

With my keys tight in my hands, I turn my back to her.

“Ryan!” Mom calls from the kitchen. “Come back!”

She’s too late. I race out to the garage, start the Jeep, and peel out of the driveway. If Gwen knows, then that means she’ll tell the rest of the school.

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Beth

SCOTT PULLS INTO A SPOT next to the front entrance of school and places the car in park.

We’re early. Neither one of us said much

during breakfast. I didn’t eat. Neither did he.

“Are you sure you want to go today?” he

asks for the tenth time. “I’m okay if you stay home. Allison and I heard you pacing

downstairs so I know you didn’t sleep the past few nights. She’s worried about you and so am I.”

I’m too damned tired to even roll my eyes at the lie of Allison being concerned over me.

Mom and I were supposed to leave today. I was going to cut school and take a cab into Louisville. Then Mom and I would have left.

My insides feel tormented, battered, and

bruised. Sort of like if Trent was allowed free rein over my organs. The worst sensation is the HC TITLE-AUTHOR

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tightness in my lungs, the feeling of

drowning.

I touch the ribbon on my wrist. “No. I want to go to school.” I need to see Ryan. He said I had roots here. I need to hear him say it again.

I need to laugh with Lacy. I want to smile when Logan and Chris egg each other on. I want to nail the anatomy quiz in science. I want to know that I’m not making the worst mistake of my life by leaving my mother

behind.

My backpack sits on the floorboard and I

hold my science book to my chest. I’m good at science. Really good. My teacher likes me.

Instead of yelling at me when I accidentally cursed while giving an answer, she laughed and winked. After class she told me to watch my fucking language. I earned a B on my last progress report and last week my teacher told me that I’m close to an A. Me, Beth Risk—I could get an A.

“I never wanted to tell you about the

money.”

I shake my head and Scott stops talking. I’d rather not think about that. It still hurts too much. I try to wipe out the thoughts of Mom HC TITLE-AUTHOR

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and money and how I’m leaving her behind

with Trent. Instead I try to focus on Lacy. She called me her best friend and she asked me to stay the night next weekend. Since I left Groveton at the age of eight, I’ve never had a sleepover with a friend. She said we’d eat frosting and watch movies. I have a best friend who’s a girl.

“You don’t look good, kid.”

I hit Trent Saturday, which means he’ll hit her. I choke as I attempt to breathe. How can I do this? I can’t leave her behind. “Mom swore to me she’d never do heroin.”