“I think you mean mature, Sweetie,” Mom corrected.

Crap. I hadnʼt had a chance to tell Jase about the newspaper assignment yet. And by hadnʼt had a chance to tell him yet I meant hoped that he would never find out. I had to distract the Munchkin before she said anything else. “Hey, Angel, could you hand me the cheese?” Of course, like any good little sister, she never did what I wanted her to do. “Is Alex going to be at the library again tomorrow?”

There was a loud clanking noise as Jase dropped his fork onto his plate. “You were at the library with Alex Cole?”

“It was no big deal...”

“Donʼt tell me it was no big deal! I told you to stay the hell away from him.”

“Jase Stewart Donovan,” Dad said in a voice that can only be achieved by someone that has been both a father and a teacher. Normally hearing any of our full names spoken in that tone would have all three of us cowering under the nearest piece of furniture. Jase was unmoved.

“I asked you to do one thing. One thing, Scout. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Sweetheart --” Mom began, but Dad cut her off. “Do not yell at your sister.” Jaseʼs volume dropped a few decibels, but the emotion of the yell was still there. “Heʼs not what you think he is.”

“It was a school assignment,” I said, emphasizing every word so they would sink into his hard skull.

“Sure it was.”

I was gripping my fork so tightly the edges were biting into my skin. “Just because Liam is a

—”

“Liam!?!?” Jase was turning an impressive shade of reddish purple. “Youʼre on a first name basis with that one now, too?”

Dad slammed his hand down on the table, causing water to fly out of my glass. “That is enough. I want to know what is going on right now .”

“Itʼs none of your business,” Jase snapped.

Everyone at the table completely froze. Iʼm not sure I was even breathing.

“What did you just say?”

Jase didnʼt reply. He just sat there trying to make my head explode with the power of his stare.

It may have been working.

“I think maybe you need to go to your room and cool off, son.” Jase stood up and thrust his chair back under the table. “Iʼll go,” he said as he walked out of the dining room, “but Iʼm not your son.”

My mouth literally hung open in shock. Jase and Dad had their fair share of disagreements over the years, but he had never said anything that cruel before. No, my dad wasnʼt Jaseʼs biological father, but since Jason Hagan died in a hunting accident before his son was born, Dad was the only father Jase ever knew.

“Iʼm sorry. I didnʼt mean to do anything bad. ” Angelʼs voice was small and timid. I found my heartstrings being tugged by her sad little face for a second time that day.

“You didnʼt do anything wrong.”

“Did you?”

Had I? I knew Liam was dangerous, and I fully intended on keeping my distance from him, but why should that automatically extend to Alex?

“Nobody did anything wrong.”

“Then why is Jase so mad?”

Three pairs of eyes were focused on me, eager for the answer. “Jase doesnʼt like Alex. He doesnʼt trust him or something.”

“Is Alex a bad person?”

Why was she asking me all of these impossibly hard questions? Had I not been the ideal big sister all day?

“Honestly, Angel, I donʼt know what kind of person he is.”

“That doesnʼt sound like Jase,” Mom said. “He wouldnʼt just dislike someone without having a good reason.”

I seriously considered telling them everything - about our creeptastic encounter with Liam, about Jaseʼs odd reaction, about my suspicions.

“Maybe he does have a good reason, but heʼs not sharing it with me.”

“This Alex kid, he hasnʼt been inappropriate towards you, has he?” Good grief. “No, Dad. I barely know the guy.”

“You know, honey, if you are feeling threatened physically, emotionally, or sexually...” Oh dear God. “You know what, I think I should go talk to Jase now,” I said, getting up from the table and away from the horribly awkward place this conversation was heading.

“Scout, if you find out whatʼs really bothering him, you will tell us, right?” Mom asked.

I leaned over to kiss the top of her head as I walked by. She looked so worried that I had to try and make her feel better. “Sure. Donʼt worry, Mom. Itʼs probably just some weird boy thing.” Of course, I didnʼt stop at Jaseʼs room. I knew better than to try to deal with him when he was upset. Instead, I slinked off to my room to distract myself with homework. I was in the middle of trying to figure out exactly what an antiderivative was when my phone rang. My heart leapt when I read the caller ID.

“Chuck! How goes the college life?” True to my prediction, communications from Charlie had been growing more and more infrequent as the semester progressed.

“This school stuff is hard work. You would love it - tons of books to read, long papers to write, impossibly hard tests to pass. I wish you were here.” And I desperately wished I was wherever he was. “Sounds like heaven.”

“How are things back home? Writing anything good for the paper?” Leave it to Charlie to be subtle. Jase must have called him to tattle.

“Not really.” I hoped he could hear the flatness in my voice through the phone.

“Funny, your brother said that you were working on an article with Alex Cole.”

“I am, but itʼs on socialized medicine. That is pretty much the opposite of interesting.” The rush of air from Charlieʼs sigh sounded like static on the phone. “Scout, I thought we talked about this. I thought you understood.”

“I never understood. I agreed to not be friends with him, which Iʼm not, but you never explained why.” I was starting to get annoyed again.

“I told you, itʼs complicated.”

“And I told you that I am smart enough to keep up.”

There was a long pause. “I canʼt tell you. Iʼm sorry, I just canʼt.” His voice got quieter, and I knew that I was not imaging the added emotion there. “I couldnʼt stand it if you got hurt. You know that, right?”

“I know.” I also knew that my insides felt like Jell-O. “Itʼs just an assignment. Iʼll keep it purely professional.”