Souls in Peril (54 page)

“Come on. I
’
ll take you home.”

Max shook his head. “No thanks.”

“Tim Garen isn
’
t there if that helps.” Max stopped, but didn
’
t answer. Marty
stepp
ed up to him. “Are you alright?”

Max dropped his head, shaking it as tears rolled down his cheeks. Marty put his arm around Max
’
s shoulders. “You will be. I
’
ll make sure of that.” He gave him a side squeeze and led him to the patrol car.

Max sank into the
backseat of the
car and dried his face with the back of his hand
. He
stared out the window as the world passed by.

Marty pressed his cell phone to his ear. “Em
’
s been out of her mind with worry.” Max frowned. He hadn
’
t thought about how worried she
’
d be.

“Em, sweetheart
.
I found him alive and well, though he could use a shower,” Marty looked in the review mirror, winking at Max. “I need you to spread the word. Make sure everyone knows he
’
s okay.” He paused. “No, Emma. You can
’
t go to his house. Things are up in the air right now. I
’
ll have him call you later.” Max heard Em complain loudly. “No, honey. I
’
m sorry. He
’
s okay, promise. I
’
ll tell him to call you tomorrow after things calm down.” Marty reminded her t
o c
all everyone before he hung up.

“Who
’
s
everyone
?” Max asked.

“At least half the student body, not to mention countless teachers and coaches. A lot of people are concerned about you, JD.”

“I
’
m sorry.”

“We
’
re just glad you
’
re safe.”

Max wondered where the foster home
would be
. He hoped still in Port Fare after all the new friendships he
’
d made over the past couple months. He didn
’
t relish the thought of having to start over again. But he
’
d do it if it kept JD alive. They pulled up in front of his house and Mel came running out to the car, her eyes swollen and red.

“Oh
,
sweetie.” She
en
circled him
in
her arms, stroking his hair with her hands. “I
’
m so very sorry. I
’
m a terrible mother. I know I am.” She pulled back and peered into his eyes. “Tim
’
s gone. He took off when I confronted him about what happe
ned
this morning. He
’
s not welcome here anymore
.
I promise.”

Max nodded. JD
’
d heard it all a million times before.

“We
’
re looking for him,” Marty assured them. “Unfortunately, what he did to you is only considered assault. I wish we could nail the scumbag on something more.”

“How about leaving the scene of an accident? I remembered
what happened
the night of the accident that killed the Sánchez
’
s
.” As Max explained
everything to
them
.
Mel gasped and buried her face in her hand. When he finished
,
she
was in tears again.

“I knew your injuries were inconsistent with what supposedly happened. Everything makes
sense
now. All over a stolen pen,” Marty added incredulously.

Max agreed. “Yup. The guy
’
s a Class A jerk.”

“Tomorrow I
’
d like you to come down to the station and fill out an official report. This guy
’
s going to pay.” Marty wrote something down in a small notebook as he spoke.

“Hello, JD.” Coach
came
up behind them,
his jaw tight
. “I
’
m glad you
’
re alright. I
’
ve been worried.”

“We
’
ve been worried,” corrected Marty.

“Let
’
s go inside. I want to talk to you about something.” Coach
wrapped an arm around his shoulder
and led him inside. Mel and Marty followed. At the table sat a man Max didn
’
t know, dressed in a suit. He stood as Max approached the table.

“Hello. You must be Jayden Miller. My name is Bruce Allen
.
I
’
m Carl
’
s brother.”

“Who
?
” Max asked.

“Carl.” Bruce pointed to Coach.

Max hadn
’
t thought about Coach having a real name.
How stupid of him. He nodded.
“So, am I going to a foster home right away, or do I have time to say goodbye to my friends?” Mel
began crying
. Max put an arm around her.

“JD,” Coach said, stepping over to the table and picking up a slip of paper. “I believe we have found a way to avoid foster care, if you find it agreeable.”

“Really? What?” JD
’
s heart rate ticked up.

“My brother
’
s drawn up what is known as a Custodial
A
greement
.
It states that you are under the care of my wife and me until further notice.
Obviously when you turn eighteen, you
’
ll
no
longer need this,” he said, handing him the document. “Your mother has to agree to this
. O
therwise
,
social services steps in
,
and it
’
s out of our hands after that.”

Max turned to Mel. “Are you willing to sign it?”

“I
’
ll do whatever you want, sweetie. But Tim
’
s out of our lives. I promise. He
’
s not co
ming back.” Max looked at Mel.
He cared about her a great deal, but he knew, as did JD, that if it wasn
’
t Tim, it would be another guy just like him. JD wanted her to sign the form. Guilt nipped at his heart, but he wanted a chance to live his life free of fear.

“Will I be able to visit my mom?”

“Yes, of course. There will be stipulations to keep you safe, but we have no desire to keep you away from you
r
mom,” Coach insisted.

Max took a deep breath. “Mom,” he said
,
so softly only she could hear. “I
’
m not doing very well. Please. I want you to sign this.”

She broke down into tears. Max wrapped his arms around her, fighting his own. After a few minutes, she pulled back and signed the form. “I
’
ll gather your things,” she said, darting off to his room. Max tried following her, but Marty stopped him.

“JD, I read the letter Izzy gave you. I
’
m not going to lie
.
I, as well as Carl, find the whole pact thing very disturbing.” Marty
squeezed
his eyes shut for a moment before continuing. “We both feel it
’
s in your best interest to receive some counseling. Suicidal thoughts are not healthy, needless to say, and we want to nip this in the bud before another tragedy strikes. Port Fare has seen enough this past year to last a lifetime.”

Max agreed whole-heartedly. Surprisingly, so did JD.

Max helped Mel collect his things. She cried the entire time. Though a little uncertain about moving in with Coach, JD felt relief.

Pulling up in front of Coach
’
s house an hour later, his uncertainty kicked up a few notches as doubt
about
whether he
’
d made the right choice or not circled around him.

“Okay, JD, brace yourself. My boys are pretty excited you
’
re coming to stay with us. They
’
re bouncing off the walls, according to my wife.” Coach smiled
,
tuck
ing
the box of JD
’
s writings under his arm and grab
bing
a suitcase.

“How does your wife feel about me crashing in on your family?” Max took the last suitcase and closed the trunk.

“She
’
s thrilled to be able to give back. Remember, she spent most of her life in foster care before being adopted by her last foster family,” Coach assured him.

The front door burst open and two boys, twins about ten years old
,
Max guessed, came
flying
down the sidewalk
with their blonde hair, and their thousands of freckles that peppered their young faces, and their smiles. Large, warm smiles. JD relaxed a little.
“Are you our new brother?” they asked at the same time.

“I guess I am.” Max smiled.

“I
’
m Jared, he
’
s Conrad. I
’
m going to be
an
all-star basketball player.” Jared bounced an imaginary basketball and pretended to thro
w
it th
r
ough the basketball stand in the driveway. “Do you like basketball?”

“Yes, but I
’
m not very good.”

Dejected, all Jared said was, “Oh.”

“How about you, Conrad
?
Are you an all-star
b
asketball player too?” Max asked enter
ing
the front door.

“No way.
I like to write stories.
I
’
m going to be a
famous author
.”

“I like to write too,” Max told him.

“Alright! Finally somebody smart around here besides me.” Conrad took the box from his dad. “Come on. I
’
ll show you your room.”

That evening
,
after a shower and more pizza th
a
n he thought he could possibly eat, Max crawled into his new bed. He called
Mel
to say good night. She cried again, but promised to stop by and
see him in a couple days before she hung up just after eleven p.m. He considered calling Em, but knew Marty
’
d have a cow if he called so late.
“First think in the morning, Em,” he promised.

Max liked Coach
’
s family. His wife was kind, and quite funny, as were the boys. As he lay in bed, a feeling slowly crept through him. A
n
emotion
he hadn
’
t
experienced
since he came to help JD.

Hope.

Max turned on his
side
,
let
ting
hope infuse every bone in JD
’
s body as
,
for the first time in a very long time
,
he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Chapter
30

“Wake up, sleepy head.” A hand
brushed
Max
’
s hair back from his forehead. Still groggy, he turned on his side, hoping Mel would go away and let him sleep just a little bit longer. He heard her chuckling and tugged the sheet up under his chin against the chill nipping at him.

“Great job down there, slugger. You hit a home run,” said the deep male voice of . . .

“Dad!” Max spun around, ripping his eyes open.

“Mom!” He flew into his parent
’
s arms.
His
parents
.
He ran a hand over his mother
’
s hair as tears welled in her eyes. “I should have told you before how wonderful you
both are.
I
’
m so
grateful
to have you as my
parents.
I
’
ve
never told you that. I
’
ve missed you so much.”