We sit there together, growing cold on the steps, waiting.

CHAPTER 36

And it’s not good. It’s really not. It goes something like this.

Dad: You’re grounded for life. I have a thousand chores for you to do, including kissing Blake’s ass. No friends over. Cami, go home forever.

Me: But, Dad, he started it.

Dad: Family meeting tonight after everybody calms down. For now, you are dead to me.

At least that’s how it feels. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I have never been grounded before. Ellen always just let me do whatever, and I didn’t get into much trouble. Here, with all these rules . . . it’s like a trap I can’t stay away from. After a while I pick up my pile of clothes. They’re still in a tangled mess on the floor where I put them after Blake tossed my stuff out of his room. I sort through them, fold them, and put them all away.

After that, I drag all the boxes marked ETHAN into my room and stack them in the corner where they’ll be safe. And then I go over to the pool table to gather up the collage of photographs.

But it looks like a tornado went through it. The photos are flipped over and scattered around like somebody picked them all up and threw them into the air, letting them stay wherever they fell. And I’m beyond pissed off.

Several of them are missing. And a couple of them are ripped.

And it’s not okay. It really isn’t. My breathing gets all shallow and scratchy and I don’t know what to do—I just circle the pool table, not knowing where to start, how to fix it. Finally I snatch up the remaining photos and bring them into my room, wishing I could get a lock for my door. I sit down on the floor and spread them out, gently, trying to breath normally. And as I attempt to re-create the collage exactly as before, I stare at the empty spots, trying to remember which ones are no longer there. It’s like trying to plug in the broken pieces of my life. I can’t remember what’s missing.

I text Cami. Guess what? Blake wrecked my photos.

She replies instantly. Jerk. Wait, you still have phone privs?

Yeah. They wouldn’t take that away. They’re obsessed w/keeping track of me.

I noticed. But can you blame them?

I think about that. No, I guess not.

At least we can still talk this way.

I smile and type. Yeah. Family meeting tonight. Should be interesting. Will let you know!

I’ll be waiting.

I bite my lip. No date tonight? It’s Sat. No games or practice.

She doesn’t answer for a while. And then all she says is, Nope, I’m busy with some other projects at home tonight.

Like?

Like . . . making sure you live through the family meeting. *grin*

She makes me calm. She does. I don’t know how she does it. Sneak over tonight if you dare. Everybody’s avoiding me like the plague so it’s pretty safe.

Maybe. I gotta go now tho, k?

Yeah . . . thanks. You made me feel better.

Duh.

I grin and shove my phone into my pocket. And I look at the photographs, laid out like before, but with gaping holes now, and it’s killing me trying to remember which ones aren’t there. The one with Cami and the sno-cone machine is missing. I know that much.

Maybe once he has Gracie on his side, he’ll try to take Cami away too.

CHAPTER 37

With the blood washed off, Blake’s face doesn’t look nearly as bad. His swollen lip has gone down a little already and his nose looks normal. He does have a gray shadow under one eye and a red spot on his cheekbone, but they’re hardly war wounds. He sits in a chair at the far side of the room. Mama and Dad sit on the couch, Gracie between them. I slip into the remaining chair as the grandfather clock starts chiming six. I look at Gracie, and she looks at me, solemn.

I’m sorry. I mouth the words and make a sad face.

She smiles grimly, way beyond her years, and I feel like we’re on some dumb TV drama again. I worry that she’s here. She shouldn’t be here. But I don’t know where she’d go. Maybe Mama and Dad think there’s still a chance we can have some magical perfect family or something. Maybe by calling it a family meeting, in their minds it means peace, love, and happiness.

Dad lays down the rules. Everybody gets a chance to speak. No raised voices. Calm and civil. Yeah, right.

Mama says, “We’ve heard Blake’s side of the story already. Ethan, let’s start with you. Tell us what happened today.”

I feel like we’re all in kindergarten. “Cami and I decided to go sledding and you asked me if I’d take Gracie, which I did. We walked over to the big hill and Gracie and I went down the hill together a couple times, and we were having a blast, when Blake came storming over. For some stupid reason, after ignoring her for as long as I can remember, Blake is suddenly superprotective of Gracie and he even threatened me last night to stay away—”

“That’s because you’re a stranger!” Blake roars. “You guys, I’m trying to tell you. He’s a phony. That’s not Ethan!”

Mama raises her arms. “Stop it, Blake.” She points to me to continue.

I feel mildly redeemed. “He told me to stay away from Gracie, which is crazy. I think he’s just jealous that Gracie and I get along.”

“I couldn’t care less,” Blake says. “I’m just trying to save her life.”

“Boys. Calm down,” Dad warns.

Gracie looks alarmed and Dad whispers something to her.

“This is not fair,” I say, and I struggle to be calm, remembering what Cami said, but my voice pitches higher. “He’s scaring her. Will you please tell Gracie that she doesn’t have to be scared of me? Sheesh.”