Page 57 of The Last Stars in the Sky
Then Kerry swings sharply left, and I blink the school into focus.
“What…”
“You didn’t think we were leaving without getting something, did you?” Kerry says, twisting back to give me a mocking grin, although her eyes look hard. “After everything we’ve been through?”
“Kerry,” I begin, shaking my head, filled with more fear than fury, “the last time we were here—”
“You’ll stay in the car.”
“This is way too dangerous—”
“I’m going too,” Mattie says.
I turn to her, one hand flung out. “Mattie, no, you are absolutely not—”
“Mom.” She gives me a look, the kind of look I normally give her—commanding, reproving, in control. “I want to go.”
I don’t think I can bear to let her go another time, but I also know I don’t have the strength to make her stay. I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes as my arm throbs.
I hear Kerry and Kyle climb out of the car, and then, to my surprise, I feel Mattie’s hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes.
“I’ll stay,” she says quietly, and she slides into the driver’s seat. “You can’t drive with that arm.”
“If you see anyone,” Kerry instructs her, “honk the horn and then get the hell out of here. We’ll meet you outside of town, by the lumber yard.”
Mattie has never driven before, but I’m not about to argue that point now. “Okay,” I croak, and she nods.
“Those guys are long gone, Alex,” Kerry tells me. “We’ll be fine.”
I lock the doors and lean back against the seat, as Mattie rests her hands on the steering wheel. “Do you know how to drive this thing?” I ask, with a hint of a smile.
Her hands tighten on the wheel. “I can figure it out.”
“I know you can.” I reach over with my good arm to touch her shoulder. “Are you okay?” I ask quietly.
She glances at me, her expression dark and uncertain, and in her eyes, I see the child she still is, even if she is determined to act as if she isn’t. “Yeah,” she says, looking away. “I’m okay.”
Everything is quiet, the parking lot completely empty. The men who were here before, who stole my dad’s truck, are long gone, just as Kerry said.
I breathe in and out. Think of Ruby and Darlene, back at the cottage. Daniel, somewhere between here and Clarkson.Sam…
I just want my family back.
I hear a noise like laughter, high and wild, and I jerk around in the seat. Kerry is running, Kyle behind her, both their arms full. At first, I think they are running from something, someone,but as I scramble to unlock the car doors, I realize they are running just because, a liberation.
“Let’s go,” Kerry says, as she dumps a bunch of cans in the footwell of the passenger seat. Kyle gets in the back while Mattie scrambles from the driver’s side.
“What did you get?” she asks eagerly.
Kerry glances at me. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “I think so.”
“We’ll have a good look at your shoulder when we get home,” she tells me. “Put a few stitches in if we need to.”
I don’t want to think about having stitches put in without any anesthetic, or Kerry being the one to put them in, when I doubt she can sew. “So, what did you get?” I ask, and I realize I am almost as curious as Mattie. Mattie leans forward from the back.
“All kinds of stuff,” Kerry replies. “A bunch of cans from the kitchen, and Kyle got some stuff from the chemistry lab—”
