“Yeah.”
“Okay. Please stay away from the Hunter Hoovers of the world.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said.
“Okay.”
There were a few seconds of silence before I whispered, “Good night.”
“Night, Em.”
We hung up. I fell asleep with my hands splayed across my belly, imagining that I was lying next to Jax and he was holding me.
THE NEXT MORNING, I woke up to the smell of French toast and bacon. Before even opening my eyes, I was already smiling.
“What are you smiling about? You almost got busted. I saved your butt.”
I opened my eyes to find a serious Sophia. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Mrs. Keller and I came in here this morning with your laundry, and I found the phone sticking out from under your bed. I hid it in my shirt and put it back, but it was a close call.”
I sat up and put my hand to my chest. “Oh shit.”
“Watch your mouth,” she whispered. “Mr. Keller has no tolerance for bad language.”
“It seems like Mr. and Mrs. Keller have no tolerance for anything.”
“Look, this place is all I’ve ever known.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “But I’ve heard a lot of stories from the kids who have been through here, and I don’t want to know what’s out there, okay? Mr. and Mrs. Keller are strict, but they’re not mean, and I think they care about me. I don’t want to mess this up. What’s the saying . . . you know, about the devil?”
“Better the devil you know?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“You’ve been here a long time, so I can see why you’d feel that way. Thanks for covering for me—you didn’t have to do that.”
“It’s fine. I didn’t want you kicked out the first week. You’re the only one who wants to hit the library with me.”
I slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans from a folded pile on the dresser. “What time do we leave?”
Sophia looked at the clock. “Seven fifty sharp. Mr. Keller will drop you off first, then me.”
“What about the boys?”
“Mrs. Keller homeschools them.”
“How come?”
“Thomas is autistic, and the twins are really behind because they were neglected.”
“Oh.” Aside from their insane rules, Mr. and Mrs. Keller seemed like angels. What they were doing was good. And I was sure they had good reasons for their rules. But for me, I just couldn’t imagine not having Jackson in my life. They didn’t know how much we needed each other.
As I brushed my hair in the dresser mirror, I noticed Sophia behind me, watching with curiosity. “What?”
“Who did you call? Last night?” Her voice was soft, hesitant.
I turned around to face her. “My boyfriend.”
“You have a boyfriend?” Her face flushed. She moved to my bed and plopped down, wearing a giddy smile. “What’s he like? What’s his name? Oh my god, do you kiss him?”
I went toward her with the brush. She was dressed and ready for school, but she still had a swirly nest of bedhead just above the back of her neck. As I brushed out her hair I told her all about Jax like we were long-lost sisters. “He’s tall, with nice muscles.” I giggled. “He’s a really good swimmer, and he’s a great writer. He has golden-y brown hair and eyes, and his skin always has this glow to it. He’s very handsome.”
“And the kissing? Tell me about it, please. I’m dying. Oh my god, I’m dying to know what it’s like.”
“Girls!” Mrs. Keller’s voice boomed from the bottom of the stairs.
Sophia popped up and darted for the door. “Breakfast!” She turned in the doorway. “We gotta get down there. Promise you’ll tell me after school?”
“Promise.”
At the bottom of the stairs was a brand-new backpack and sweater. “Will that do?” Mr. Keller asked from where he was standing statue-like near the front door.
“Yes, it’s great, thank you.”
He nodded. “Better get in there and get your breakfast.”
We inhaled our French toast at the large oval table while Mr. Keller shouted out a minute-by-minute countdown. Thomas repeated Mr. Keller several times, his voice like a little robot’s.
“Ten minutes till the van leaves. Ten minutes, girls,” Thomas said over and over as he picked off all the dark parts of his toast and set them aside on a little napkin.
At the three-minute warning, Thomas jumped down from his chair and came up to me, his face inches from mine. “Three minutes till the van leaves. Three minutes, Emerson. You better go.” He looked terrified even though he wasn’t making eye contact. Brandon and Daniel sat quietly on the other side of the table. Their shaggy hair and transfixed gazes as they watched Thomas melt down made the twins look like they were in one of those “big eyes” paintings. Two little ragamuffins with giant alien-like saucers for eyes.
Daniel blurted out, “He does that because he doesn’t like it when people are late.”