Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Author:Jennifer Brown [BROWN, JENNIFER]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction / Family - Siblings, Juvenile Fiction / Juvenile Fiction - Social Issues - Adolescence, Juvenile Fiction / Social Issues - Depression & Mental Illness
Publisher: Hachette Book Group USA
Published: 2012-07-09T20:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

By the time we pulled into Denver, Bo was getting pretty restless. Grayson still hadn’t said a word, but he kept glancing over the back of the seat every time Bo cried. Once, when Rena lifted Bo out of his seat, shushing him and bouncing him up and down, Grayson peered at her nervously, but he still said nothing.

“I think he needs to eat,” she said, finally. I looked in the rearview mirror. She had Bo propped up on her knee, facing forward. Her finger was tucked into his mouth and he sucked at it angrily, every so often pausing to let out a little cry of frustration. “I can’t let him face me or he goes crazy,” she said with an embarrassed shrug.

“Oh,” Grayson said, turning around to face front, his ears turning bright red.

“I need to pee anyway,” I said, pulling into a Walmart parking lot.

I parked Hunka just as Bo’s cries started to crescendo. Rena was turning him to her while lifting up one half of her shirt at the same time. I tried not to look, and then felt stupid for being embarrassed. It was a boob, for goodness’ sake. Not like I didn’t see two of them every day when I looked in the mirror. Still. What Rena did felt private and made her seem so much older, even though I knew she really wasn’t.

“You need anything?” I asked as I leaned over and unzipped my backpack. I pulled out the entire roll of bills and stuffed it into my front pocket. Grayson, who had been watching me, got a shocked expression on his face.

“I don’t have any money,” Rena said.

“It’s okay, what do you need?”

“Well, for some reason, I always crave milk when I’m nursing. If they have any chocolate milk…? You know, like a small bottle.”

“That’s it?” I asked, holding myself back from asking how many diapers were in that bag. I had a little bit of money, sure. Money that I’d never meant to spend and would most definitely have to account for later. But even I knew I didn’t have enough to get me and Grayson to California and take care of a baby.

So how did Rena expect to do it with no money at all?

And why did I care? Bo wasn’t my baby. It was up to Rena to take care of him. She just seemed kinda clueless about it.

I got out of the car and stretched, one arm above my head. The day had warmed up a little, and there was something so clear and bright about Denver’s air. I felt good. So good I could almost ignore Grayson, who was glaring at me over the top of the car.

“Come on,” I said, heading around the car and toward the store entrance. “Don’t let me forget the milk.”

“We can’t leave her there alone,” he said, catching up to me.

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t know her. She could steal everything we’ve got.”

I laughed. “She can’t steal the car, because I have the keys.

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