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The back of my head hits the wall. I can come up with two letters. One from Mr. Holden. Another from my current place of employment. A third? Adults tend to avoid me. I never should have allowed hope.
Mr. Holden knows me better than most. “I’ll give you one. Tom will, too,” he says. “Can you think of one more?”
Mrs. Collins mutters, “Who is a responsible adult who knows what Isaiah is capable of?”
I hate that woman. I really do. How can Echo and Noah stomach her?
“I’ll do it. ” Courtney has been so silent that I forgot about her. “One condition. ”
“And that is?” I rub my neck to relieve the building pressure.
“You answer my phone calls and you meet with me when I ask. ”
Mrs. Collins barely contains her excitement. This meeting was never a bluff. The head-shrinker held a full house the entire time.
With her hands in her lap, Courtney waits patiently for my answer. I hate being on a leash. All I want is freedom—to be out from underneath everything that holds me down. With Courtney, I won’t just be on a damn leash; she’ll keep me on a choke collar. But this opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime shot. The money Pro Performance pays their mechanics is sweet. “Okay. ”
Courtney flashes a smile that’s all teeth. “Excellent. Our first meeting will be next Thursday. Right after school. ”
Feeling the grip of a leash choking my neck, I grab at the collar of my T-shirt. “Fine. ”
Courtney stands. “Mrs. Collins, thank you for the invite. I need to run, though. Staff meeting. ”
“We’ll talk again soon,” answers Mrs. Collins as Courtney goes out the door.
Mr. Holden leaves without acknowledging anyone. The sound of the second hand ticking is the only noise in the room. Mrs. Collins relaxes back in her chair and folds her hands over her lap. “Now that we’re alone, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”
“No. ”
“Anything about your foster parents or Noah or where you’ve been staying the night?”
“No. ”
Her eyes drift to the tricked-out compass tattooed on the inside of my right arm. “What does your tattoo mean?”
“Nothing that concerns you. ” She needs to steer clear of what’s personal. “You think you’re slick setting me up so that Courtney can keep tabs on me, don’t you?”
A satisfied smile crosses her lips. “Occasionally I can be crafty. Regardless of how you see yourself, you’re still a minor. The system may not be perfect, but it exists to keep you safe. ”
Spoken by a lady who wasn’t raised in the nonperfect system since she was six. The clock ticks. She breaks the silence. “It was interesting what you said earlier. ”
My muscles tense. “What?”
“You said everything leaves. ”
Not interested in being analyzed, I switch the topic. “Can I go?”
“I can help you,” she says in a soothing voice that probably puts insomniacs to sleep. “Echo trusts me and so does Noah. ”
Echo and Noah needed help. Hell, they had problems that could be fixed. “I ain’t them. ”
“No. ” Her eyes bore into mine. “You’re not, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t help. ”
I push off the wall. “Actually, that’s exactly what it means. ” And I leave.
Irritated, I punch a streamer hanging from the ceiling. I’m late for sixth period. Mrs. Collins would have written me a note, but I’d rather risk detention than stay in the same room with her. I turn the corner and skid to a halt when I spot Abby on the floor next to my locker.
“About time you showed,” I say. She already skipped two days this week. Her head jerks up and her wide eyes freak me out. “What’s wrong?”
