Page 47 of Good and Gone

“You're strong,” I murmur softly, looking deep into her eyes. “You'll get through this.We'llget through this.”

“I’m not so sure.”

She looks like she is going to start crying again, so I try to think of something quick. “You remember how we met?”

"I'm not in the mood for stories, Tyler," she tells me, closing her eyes. But I don't let it stop me.

"I was about to get my ass kicked," I say. "And there you were."

"Youweregetting your ass kicked."

"Sure, okay. Anyway, you waltzed right up to Billy Peckham and gave him a piece of your mind."

"I punched him in the nose."

"That's what I said." Hailey was one of the first kids I met in the first grade, Billy Peckham not included. We'd just moved here after my parents divorced. My father wanted to be close to the base, and my mother wanted to be anywhere but close to my father, and in the end he won, though I can't say she put up much of a fight.

Speaking of unfair fights—that morning, I was lying on the ground with Billy Peckham standing over me. I can still remember how cold the earth was on my back and how bright the sun was in my eyes. Billy was like most bullies, about three times the size of most of our classmates, and exactly the right amount of mean to earn his title, fair and square. He'd already punched me in the gut and stolen my lunch money, but for whatever reason, on this particular morning, he wasn't content to stop there. All I knew was that if I came home with broken glasses, it would be the end of me. It had already happened once, and I knew my Pops couldn't afford new ones. He'd taken me out back and showed me how to handle bullies, but he wasn't there. He didn't know how big Billy Peckham was or the damage a kid like him could do, long after he'd taken your lunch money and shoved your face into the dirt.

But before that could happen, Hailey coolly approached and calmly told him, "You let him up."

"Or what?" he sneered.

"Or I'll let you have it."

"What is this? The future? Let me have it?"

"No," she said, taking a step toward him. "Let. Him. Up."

"Or what?" He laughed, though it came out more like a cough.

"Or I'll let you have it," she repeated, shaking her head. "You want a piece of me or not?"

"Bring it on," he growled. I could feel him standing over me, I could hear him breathing heavily, I could see his shadow moving back and forth, but I couldn't see him. I couldn't take my eyes off Hailey. Her eyes were narrowed, the corners of her mouth turned up in a satisfied smirk. She was deep in concentration, but she made it look easy. Billy held out his hand, like he was challenging her to shake it. I remember thinking that this was her chance to run. It was her chance to get out of there and save herself. She could still walk away from this. But she didn't. She looked down at Billy Peckham and said, "Last chance," and then she threw a hook punch and caught him right in the nose.

"I was always telling you that you'd make a great mother," I say, smiling at her. "Even if it took you a long time to figure it out."

"Yes,” she says, her eyes still shut.

"Well, now's your chance to prove it."

"Tyler," she says, her voice growing quiet. "Promise me something."

I squeeze her hand. “Anything.”

"Promise me you won't ever leave me."

"Why would you think I would do something like that?" I ask.

“I don't know.” She shakes her head. "It's this feeling I have."

"What kind of feeling?"

"They're not done with me," she says, her voice growing smaller. "I'm scared."

“I know.” I take her hand in both of mine and press it to my lips. "Being scared is normal, but it's time we start punching back."

I kiss Hailey's hand and can feel her slipping away. "Shh," I tell her. "It'll be all right. Sleep."

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