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was probably not going to happen anytime soon and, when it did, it wasn’t going to be pretty. Better to get Will out of the house so he’d have achance to sleep tonight. The fighting gave him nightmares.
    â€œWith relish?” Will finally stopped rocking. His hand found its way into Chad’s.
    â€œAnd extra sauerkraut.” Chad smiled. There was a place just three blocks away. They had been going there so often lately it was like a home away from home. A little oasis of peace and sustenance—if you considered a processed meat stick sustenance. Anyway, it was what they needed.
    Chad checked his wallet—enough for two dogs, two sodas, and a shared fries. This little venture was going to clean him out and burn his study time. After hot dogs Will always wanted Chad to stay with him until he was asleep. Chad would read to him and usually fall asleep himself. It was their routine. With a sigh, Chad realized he would have to call his go-to guy for the answers to his homework again. Sure, it was cheating. And he’d owe his best friend yet another favor. But what choice did he have? He had to take care of Will. He had to keep his grades up. He had to keep it all together.
    Thank God for Tom , Chad thought. He could totally trust him, which was essential. If the school ever found out just how much “help” Chad needed, he could kiss his scholarship—and Kelly, and basically his whole life—good-bye.
    After quickly writing a note on the dry-erase board on the fridge, Chad started out of the kitchen. His parents had moved the fight to the basement and he did not want to interrupt. For a second, Chad wondered if they knew their underground yelling carried up through the heating vents to every room of the house. They were not sparing anyone; they were broadcasting. He thought about telling them, then thought again. He led Will toward the front door. They had to get out before Will started rocking again.
    The two brothers were still holding hands when they reached the sidewalk, and Will pulled Chad to a stop. He looked Chad square in the face—something he didn’t do much. “Will they be done fighting when we get back?” he asked.
    Chad swallowed. He hated lying to Will. Will didn’t get lies. People thought autistic kids were stupid, but they weren’t. They knew lots more than people gave them credit for. They weren’t dumb; they were sort of…pure. They did not get embarrassed. They loved unconditionally. They did not lie, and they did not understand people who did.
    A long time ago Chad had pledged never to lie to Will. Never to hurt him. Hard as it was, he could not start now. “Maybe,” was all he could say.

Chapter Seventeen
    Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh . Alison repeated the phrase over and over in her head as the not-just-one-or-two but three sets of locking gates and heavy doors opened and then shut again behind her. Each time she heard a lock slide back into place with the cold click of metal on metal she cringed. She’d thought she could handle this. Now she was not so sure.
    Beside Alison, one of her mother’s attorneys was unflinching, yacking into her cell as if the jail hall was her private phone booth. She barely noticed Alison was with her. Alison was secretly grateful her father had an “urgent meeting” thatkept him from coming along—even if the meeting probably did take place at a bar.
    Emerging into the waiting room, Alison was surprised to see that the jail visiting area looked a lot like the ones on TV. It made it seem familiar. There were chairs lined up facing one another on either side of a center console. It looked like a long desk separated down the middle and on either side by thick glass. Phones hung in the bulletproof cubicles.
    She’s not going to be wearing makeup, Alison thought suddenly. That would be weird. She could not remember the last time she had seen her mother without makeup. Helen