Off the Grid by Lesley Choyce

Author:Lesley Choyce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV039090, JUV039060, JUV015020
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2015-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

We went into a Dunkin’ Donuts shop and I ordered coffee and some donuts. We sat in a booth and I looked around at the other people. None of them looked like they had the problems I had.

“So what can I do to help?” Ernest asked.

“I need a place to stay,” I said. “A place to hide.”

“Okay. I can take care of that. But it ain’t going to be a four-star hotel.”

We lingered in the coffee shop until the manager asked us to leave. Ernest nodded. “I’m used to it, Cody. No big deal. Guess you and I weren’t on the invitation list.” And then he laughed his funny little laugh that usually ended with a long coughing fit.

Our accommodation for the night was an unlocked shed of sorts beneath an outside stairway. Cardboard boxes lined the floor, and there were a couple of old blankets in there. We didn’t go in until the sun had set, and inside it was dark. Very dark. Ernest fell asleep almost instantly. I sat up in the darkness, grieving the loss of my old life, worrying about my fate and, most of all, thinking about my mother and father. It was a long and unhappy night.

Ernest wasn’t in good shape in the morning. “I got a headache. My back hurts and my teeth ache,” he said. “But none of that is new. What about you, young man? What’s next?”

During the night, I’d realized I had to see my parents. “I gotta see my dad,” I said. “I gotta make sure he’s okay. After that, I don’t know.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No. I need to do this on my own.” I knew that hauling old Ernest along to the hospital would make us stand out, and I couldn’t chance that.

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