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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+
Không đủ số lượng người đọc
165 Chs

Chapter 94

“Okay, what’s up?” she asked, wiping her forehead.

“Our clothes are being washed, so that part’s taken care of,” Dayna said. “Tom and Jean are having a cookout today, so that means we should be able to get leftover food to take with us.”

“Oh, you mean after they’re finished eating what they want and not giving you anything?” Ash snapped.

Dayna looked as if she’d been smacked. “I’m sorry. What did I do?”

Ash felt her face burn. She softened her tone. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at your parents. I’ve been here for three days and they haven’t fed you once.”

“Oh,” she said.

“What did Mom and Dad say?” Kevin sat on one of the beds, holding his stuffed animal, apparently oblivious to the confusion that had just occurred.

“Tom told me to come back upstairs until the clothes were ready to be dried. And he said if we were quiet then we’d be able to get a plate of food later and bring it up here to eat.”

“All right!” Kevin exclaimed. “What are they fixing?”