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No Turning Back

The punishment for a seventh-grade dropout runaway is probably pretty harsh, but Ash Barker doesn't care. She can’t waste time or emotions on anyone but her brother, Matt. They were placed in separate foster homes, so Ash runs away to find him. If she fails, she’s headed back to juvenile detention.<br><br>Everything is going right on schedule until two kids, Dayna and Kevin, barge into her hideout -- which just happens to be in their house. She ditches the pair fast, but can’t stop thinking about those bruised, skinny kids.<br><br>Dayna and Kevin live with abusive parents who force them to stay in their room most of the time. If they go to the authorities for help, they’ll be split up, too. Ash knows how that feels, and she goes back to help, taking the two with her. With any luck, they’ll all help each other along the way.<br><br>Meanwhile, as Matt waits for Ash, he can’t resist telling his foster brother and best friend, Jon-Allen, about the plans. They stash food, earn money, and keep watch for the night Ash appears at their bedroom window.<br><br>Ash is so happy to be reunited with Matt and to discover she’s falling in love with Dayna that, at first, she doesn’t worry about what they’ll do next. But life on the road begins to take its toll -- they have to resort to shoplifting and scavenging to survive. Ash feels a growing sense of guilt at the disaster she’s made of everyone’s lives. Can she somehow keep her newfound “family” together despite hunger and sickness? Or will she be able to find the strength to reach out for help?

Kim Flowers · LGBT+
Classificações insuficientes
165 Chs

Chapter 149

Ash had underestimated Dayna. She’d thought Dayna would be jealous of having to share Ash’s attention with Matt and would never talk to Jon-Allen since he was an unexpected addition to the group. But Dayna and Jon-Allen got along really well. Sometimes they even wandered off together.

They walked through trees all day. At around four P.M. they stopped at the edge of a soybean field with a town beyond.

“We need a few more supplies, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for all of us to be seen together,” Ash said.

“Kevin and I can go,” Dayna said. “They know what you, Matt, and Jon-Allen look like. Maybe no one knows we’re with you yet.”

“The police officer saw you both,” Ash said.

“It was really dark,” Kevin said. “I doubt he got a close look. Plus, they’re looking for five kids, not two.”

“Well…”

“I’ll go, too,” Jon-Allen said.

Matt sighed. “You can’t go. They’re looking for us, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Jon-Allen sat on the ground with downcast eyes.