“What a week.” I overheard Mr. Fin say, “We’ve raised enough money to pay off the cars and the house! And then we did! We lost a member of our family and gained another!” They were eating dinner. But I wasn’t hungry enough so, I ate a bag of white cheddar Cheez-its.
“Well honey where is our new member?” Mrs. Fin asked Logan.
“Umm I’ll be back.” I hear him push out his chair and start walking up the stairs. Great. I hid the bag and laid on my new bed. Contemplating what to say. The door eased open. His voice was soft,
“Rachel my parents would like to talk to you if you’re ready.”
“Maybe in the morning.” I said rolling over.
“That’s fine I’ll tell them possibly tomorrow.” He started out of the room. But I stopped him.
“Who did you lose?”
“Oh my brother he went missing.” As he finished his mom called out,
“Logan, if she doesn’t want to she doesn’t have to, ok.”
“Ok mom.” Then to me he said, “Well I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Alright bye.” He left the room hesitantly.
When I got to the house Logan gave me a room on the second floor. That nobody had used before. So I could make it my own. I started to make paper quotes to tape on the wall. My biggest said ‘The one you love might never love you. And you may never love your lover.’ Another said ‘You’ve got a reason to smile so do it.’
I heard someone pull up the driveway. I looked out the window a minute too late to see the vehicle. Mrs. Fin got the door and thanked the person and closed the door. The car drove out of the driveway. It had no logo on that side. So now I was imagining what that could have been. So I made a quote ‘Love is blind till you find you’re light.’. I heard that Logan parents were going to sleep and that they would call the school and tell them that we weren’t going to be there for a couple weeks, and to e-mail us our work. Logan came up with something behind his back.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?” I asked but still closing them.
“Good. You’ll see.” He placed something on my lap. “You can open your eyes now.”
“Mango! Where did you find him?”
“The firefighters gave him to you aunt and she dropped him off.”
“Oh. Are your parents ok with him here?”
“Oh ya. We need a pet around here anyways but, we have to take care of him.”
“I had to do that at my house,” The tension was thick,”So are we riding the bus to school tomorrow?” I tried to change the subject.
“Were not going.”
“Why not?”
“Well you're not ready to go back. And maybe the person that did this to you wants more. I’m not going to let that happen to you again.”
“Please let me go.”
“No if tomorrow I have to strap you down I will.”
“Then I won’t eat so you’ll have to let me go.”
“I will force feed you and you’ll have to pee in a cup.”
“Ok!!! I’ll be good and not run away!!”
“Good now let’s go to sleep.”
“Umm. Logan can I sleep with you? I’ve had nightmares since then and when I get nightmares I need someone to wake me up. If it’s not too weird.”
