Chapter 102

I nodded, thinking my mom likely assumed Elliott was going to brainwash me into believing that whatever had happened wasn’t so bad, and maybe, if it was as awful as she had me thinking it might be, he’d have to. He was sitting in her chair when I walked in, though he stood up as soon as he saw me. “Hi,” I said, hearing my mom fumbling with flowers and balloons behind me but not stopping to help her. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s go outside,” he said, heading toward the backyard. I turned to see my mom making what would apparently be the first of a few trips inside, dropped my backpack by the door, and followed behind him.

Despite the fact that it was still February, it was a fairly nice day. The sun was out, there was no snow on the ground, and only a light breeze rustled the remaining crinkled leaves in the yard. Elliott dropped into a chair on our back deck, and I sat next to him, doing my best to give him time