Ms. Danner rewarmed a plate of food from their dinner.
“Can you stay awhile?” Jackie asked.
“Yes.”
“Come upstairs.”
He would ask what was wrong. She had to make sure she didn’t cry as she had in December.
Jackie closed his door. Raven sat on the side of the bed next to his homework.
“I’ve been so worried about you!” he said. “You ran off the other day and missed two days of school. You missed your birthday yesterday.”
March twelfth, her fake birthday. That meant it was Friday.
“Why are you home doing homework on a Friday night?” she asked.
“Why would you ask me that?” he said in an angry voice. “You know why. Because I haven’t heard from you for two days. Do you really think I’d want to go out without you tonight? I almost went over there today.”
“But you were afraid of the gun.”
“Of course I was! I thought your mother was going to kill me that day!”
Tears were coming. She couldn’t let them. She curled onto her side on the bed and closed her eyes.
“What’s going on? Did she kick you out of the house again?”
“No,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.
“Then why do you look like you’ve been living in the woods for the last two days? And I’d swear you’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“Stop. I’m tired. I just want quiet.”
“My mom is going to ask me what’s going on. She knows that’s why I brought you up here.”
“I was lost.”
“As if I’d believe you, of all people, could get lost on your land. You told me you’ve been trusted to wander alone since you were six.”
Raven bit the inside of her bottom lip to feel pain that would stop the tears.
Jackie sat on the bed next to her. He stroked his fingers through her hair. “I’m sorry I sound angry. I’m not. I’ve been worried.”
She dared not speak or she’d cry.
“Happy birthday,” he said. “I have a present for you. Do you want to open it?”
“Not now,” she managed.
He sighed. “I don’t know why you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on.” His fingers stopped stroking her hair. “Raven . . . did your mother . . . did she . . . pass?”
Yes, she had passed as some people said. She had passed from one world to another. And if she couldn’t find her way back, Raven would never see her again.
She would find her way. She’d said she would.
“Did she?” he asked.
She kept her eyes closed. “No.”
“Is she really sick?”
“She’s getting better.”
“If that’s true, why did you leave Bear’s and run away from me?”
“I forgot to do something my mother asked.”
It hurt to lie to him, but she had to. At sixteen, she probably wasn’t allowed to live alone. Police would take her away from her land. Mama wouldn’t be able to find her when she returned.
“Would you turn off the light?” she asked. “I want to rest a little.”
He turned off the desk lamp and tugged the comforter out from under her. He got in the bed behind her, pulled the cover over them, and wrapped his arm around her.
“Whatever’s going on, I’m glad you’re here,” he said.
“Me too,” she said.
He hugged her tighter.
She pushed away all thought. She only let herself feel his warmth and hear the soft rhythm of his breathing. She fell asleep without once looking up at the plastic stars.
9
The lying got easier. And taking care of the house by herself wasn’t difficult. She conserved propane by rarely using heat. She wore layers of clothing and turned on the furnace only if she was afraid the pipes might freeze. She was careful not to use the food in the big freezer. She often ate out with Jackie after school, and a few times she had him take her to the grocery store to get perishables. The credit card Mama had given her continued working.
She went to school every day, did her homework, got good grades. She went out with Jackie and their friends as often as she had before. She made sure there was no reason to suspect anything in her life had changed.
At the beginning of spring break, the water stopped working inside the house. Something was wrong with the well pump. That had happened before, but Raven couldn’t remember what repair was needed. She knew how to do many repairs—clogged sink pipes, jammed kitchen disposal, leaky toilet tanks—but this was beyond what she knew.
Though she knew which plumber Mama used, she wasn’t sure if he fixed wells. And she had no phone now that Mama wasn’t there. Mama believed phones were strictly utilitarian devices. She had used hers only to order groceries or call repair services. Her phone was always locked, and Raven didn’t know the code.
She would have to ask Jackie to call the plumber. He was coming to the gate with Huck and Reece to pick her up for lunch. Huck’s spring break from the university coincided with their high school break, and Reece had his day off from work.
She dressed without a shower. She made tea and brushed her teeth with emergency bottled water Mama kept in the pantry.
She thought about how she would explain needing Jackie’s phone as she walked down to the gate.
The boys arrived a little late. Reece hung out his window as the car slowed. “Need a ride, babe?” he asked.
Raven messed his hair with her fingers.
“Hey, I worked on that for an hour!”
She sat in back with Jackie. As Huck started down the road, she asked, “Do any of you know who to call when a well pump isn’t working?”
“What’s wrong with it?” Reece asked.
“I don’t know. All I know is I had no water to take a shower.”
“Is that what I smell?” Huck said.
“I thought we’d driven over a steaming sewer,” Reece said.
Jackie kissed her cheek. “You smell great.”
“Doesn’t your mom know who to call?” Reece asked.
“She’s not here.”
They all shot surprised stares her way.
“Where is she?” Jackie asked.
“She went to be with my aunt for a little
