Book 1 of the On the Run Trilogy!
Being a teenage girl is hard enough, but it's harder for Jackie since she's on the run from the US government.
Jackie Robinson's just trying to keep herself (and her two older brothers and dad) alive. She's trying t...
I come out of Parker's hall bathroom wearing some pajamas that I can only guess used to be his sister's.
It's wrong to be wearing these, but I needed to get out of that costume.
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I feel small. I don't know why, but right now, everything in the universe seems bigger than it used to. Perhaps that's the impending doom that is about to make its way into my life.
"Liz would have liked you," he says from around the corner.
I jump a foot in the air. My heart's racing, pumping for no good reason. "Thanks for scaring me," I mumble.
He smirks. "Anytime."
I bite my cheek.
This is so awkward.
I sent Dad a text that I wouldn't be home tonight because I'm taking care of a drunk friend. I mean, it's a stretch, but I'm taking care of myself by not being around my drunk brother who I still may or may not want to kill. I'm surprised he let me stay. I told him it was Izzie, so he already had her background check and didn't ask me any questions as to who it was.
I'm becoming quite inventive when it comes to lying to him... I don't know how to feel about it.
"So," I ask. "Where are your parents?"
"Work," he says. "They work more since, uh..." His eyes shift over to a door.
Liz's room. They work more because of Liz.
Would they approve of me? Would they approve of this? Me wearing her clothes? Me being alone in their house with their son?
I nod. "I understand."
That's what Dad does. He works to forget Mom. I don't blame him. We all kind of threw ourselves into something to forget.
It's almost one in the morning, but I'm not tired. My body feels like it could run a marathon.
"Would you like a tour?" Parker asks.
I nod. "Sure."
I can't believe I'm getting a tour of this house, which by the way, looks like it comes straight out of a catalog decorated for fall.
He smiles. "Well, you've seen the bathroom and the foyer," he says. "We can start on floor two, go up to floor three, and go back down to floor one."
This place has three floors? Jesus.
"Come down the hall with me," he says.
I follow him a few feet and he stops at another closed door.
"Have you ever seen the night sky in November? Specifically November 17th?" he asks.
What the hell?
"Uh, I can't say that I have," I answer.
"Well," he says. "You're about to."
What is he talking about? It's October and cloudy.
