"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Jay shouted, careening into Nate's bedroom and launching his body on top of his brother's. It was 10 AM, but the house was still quiet. Or rather, it had been quiet.

Nate moaned. "Jay, shh. Go away. Let me sleep."

"Nope! No way! You're 22 today!" he accidentally rhymed. He laughed at himself before continuing. "And you know what that means!"

"Not the fucking birthday book," Nate groaned.

"The fucking birthday book!" Jay shouted cheerfully. "The best Dr. Seuss book ever written! Come on, Nathaniel!"

Nate rolled from his side onto his stomach and stuffed a pillow over his head. Jay just smiled and took a seat on Nate's lower back.

"Jay, no!"

"I wish we could do what they do in Katroo," he began loudly. "They sure know how to say Happy Birthday To You! Every year in Katroo, on the day you were born, they start the night right in the bright early morn when the Birthday Honk-Honker hikes high up Mount Zorn and lets loose a blast on the big birthday horn!"

"Jay, you're gonna wake up Mom. I'm sure she doesn't want to hear this either."

But he wasn't bothered. This was Nate's morning, and as much as he pretended to hate the birthday book, Jay could see through him. Tradition had always been important to Nate, and this tradition was pretty much sacred. "Then, the moment the Horn's happy honk-honk is heard comes a fluttering flap-flap! And then comes the bird! The Great Birthday Bird! And so far as I know-"

"Katroo is the only place where Birthday Birds grow," Nate finished dully. "I know, Jay."

Jay whacked Nate through the pillow. "Shut up and let me read." He looked back at the book. "Here's the part with your name anyway."

"I know."

"And whether your name is NATE, Nelly, or Ned, he knows your address, and he heads for your bed! Then over the housetops and trees of Katroo, you see the bird coming. To you. Just to you! Then the bird says, 'Come on! Brush your teeth and let's go! It's your Day of all Days! It's the Best of the Best! So don't waste a minute! Hop to it! Get dressed!"

"Are you done?" Nate asked, his face still buried under his pillow.

"Nope. If you didn't have birthdays, you wouldn't be you! If you'd never been born, well then what would you do? If you'd never been born, well then what would you be? You might be a fish, or a toad in a tree! You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes! You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes! Or worse than all that… you might be a Wasn't! A Wasn't has no fun at all. No he doesn't. A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present. But you – you are you! Now isn't that pleasant."

"Finally," Nate sighed.

But then Jay cleared his throat and started singing at the top of his lungs, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOO YOUUUUU! HAAAPPY BIIIIIRTHDAY TOOOOO YOUUUUU! HAPPY BIIIRTHDAAAAAAY DEAAAARRR NAAAAAAATE! HAPPY BIIIIRTHDAY TOOOO YOUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Nate let silence fall. "Now are you done?"

"Now I'm done," Jay said. He was halfway out the door when he turned around and dashed back in. "WAIT! I forgot the spanks!"

"Fuck! No! Jay!" Nate exclaimed, scrambling to flip on his back and cover his ass (literally).

"Ohhhh yes," Jay grinned. "Show me those little buttocks! That fine piece of ass! The faster you let me do it, the faster you're done," he sing-songed.

"Ugh, fine," Nate conceded. Just as Jay was about to begin, though, he darted out of his bed and dashed through the house, clad only in his boxers. "Ha!" He smashed into Christina on his way through the teeny kitchen. "Sorry, Mom!" he called, but there was no time for embarrassment. Jay was too close behind him.

"Birthday spanks!" Jay crowed. "Birthday spanks! 22 this year, and one to grow on! Come back here, boy!"

Nate laughed as he ran. "You have to catch me first!"


A few hours later, Nate slid a black tie around his neck and took his time tying it. He looked discolored in the yellowy locker room mirror, but it was the only reflective surface they had. He supposed he could have used the much cleaner mirror in Lisa's office, but he knew she would watch him or offer to help, and he didn't want that. No softness today. He had to be 100%.

He stepped back a few feet to look at his entire body. He felt like someone else, all gussied up in pressed black pants and Alvey's dress shoes. He was grateful for the interview, but he didn't know why he couldn't sit in front of the camera in shorts and a t-shirt. It was so hot in May.

Absently, he straightened the knot at the top of the tie and then ran his fingers over the space where his stitches had been. His hair had long since hidden the scar, but the mark was still prominent under his fingers. They said he'd have it forever.


Nate had press coming to the gym later that morning and he didn't want Jay hovering, so the older Kulina boy went down by the beach to work out on the ropes. While he was there, he noticed the sound of a camera shutter clicking. Then again. And then again. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the camera was indeed pointed straight at him.

He dropped gracefully down off the ropes and began twisting his arms and legs, striking several fighting poses. After a moment, he charged the girl in the ponytail who was taking pictures of him.

"Hey," he said. When she didn't look up, he cried, "Hey!" By that time he was right in her face, and he'd definitely startled her. He was a little too high to feel guilty, but he did realize the need to explain himself. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not crazy," he told her. He smiled as he realized that was probably exactly what a crazy person would say. "My name is Jay." He took his sunglasses off and shook her hand.

"Laura," the girl said. She was in a black and white tank top, and her tan arms and shoulders were decorated with delicate tattoos.

"Laura, what is your last name?"

"Laura Melvin."

"Miss Melvin, that is a very expensive camera you have there. Are you a professional photographer or will any of those photos appear in a publication?"

"I am, and these are just for inspiration." Laura Melvin was clearly growing comfortable with Jay's wild personality more quickly that most people he came across.

"Ah," Jay said. "For inspiration." He shrugged confidently. "Then I guess I'm your muse." He gave her a smile full of teeth.

"Maybe," she replied airily. "But I also shot a homeless man peeing on another guy's sleeping back and some wet garbage I found at the beach. I guess the muse takes many forms."

Jay was intrigued. "Indeed," he said. He started heading back to the ropes, but she called after him.

"So, what's your story?"

He took a second to smile to himself before turning around with a blank face. "Well, I… I don't know, what's my story?" Brief flashes of Nate bleeding on the sidewalk, the frantic phone call to Lisa asking whether Zoey was in her bedroom, and Alvey's face twisted into an aggressive growl played in his mind, but he pushed them away. "I think I'd start, you know, when I was born. I came shooting out like a fucking missile. And at first, I was interested in soft food, but then I grew teeth and I fell in love with red meat. It was all I wanted and I couldn't get enough of it, and I think that started something in my brain, a circulation that made me want to walk and talk and kind of grow up into the beautiful young man you see before you today."

"Okay, I get it, I get it. It was a stupid question," Laura said, trying to sound flippant. A little bit of annoyance tinged her tone though.

"No no no, it wasn't a stupid question, Miss Melvin. I'm just trying to give you an honest... full-fledged reply." He pulled his tank top down over his head.

"What do you do for a living?"

Jay sniffed proudly and stood up straighter. "I'm a fighter."

"Oh yeah? What kind of fighter?"

"You know. The kind that gets in the cages." He shadow boxed a little to demonstrate.

She nodded, interested. "What's that like?"

"Hurts like hell, but the pay is terrible." He grinned proudly when his words pulled a laugh out of her. Her smile was beautiful.

"Can I take a picture of your black eye?" she asked.

Jay took a moment before he answered as he pretended to consider the question. "Yes, you can." He peeled off his sunglasses and revealed the purple skin around his eye socket. The camera started clicking again, and Jay felt a tingling in the back of his head. It was the same feeling he'd gotten that time he let Zoey paint his nails or when Nate cut his hair. Laura was a welcome distraction from his shitty life. A welcome distraction indeed.


"Yeah. Yeah," Nate replied to the interviewer. "Sure, this feels like a new beginning for me. Yeah, going through what I did – the injuries and not being able to fight or train – that was hard. Not being around the guys or in the gym… Uh, this is my family. There were definitely days where you feel sorry for yourself."

"Did you ever think about not fighting anymore?"

Nate wove his fingers together as he spoke. "It wasn't really a question of if I would continue fighting just more… you know, why do I fight? Why do I do this? To mature as a fighter and kind of as a person, those are the kind of questions you have to answer."

"Would you say you're in good physical shape despite the injury?"

"Without a doubt, I'm in the best shape of my career. Uh, I'm carrying way less weight, I'm more explosive than I've ever been. My knee, structurally, is way stronger than even before the injury. I feel good, I feel ready, I'm just anxious. I feel like I've got one job, and that's to get in the cage and take the guy out in front of me."

"And, just one more thing – I read that your sister Zoey has been missing for almost a year now. Is that true?"

Nate glared. He looked off to the side at Lisa, who gave him a soft shrug. She was telling him he could say whatever he wanted.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, it's true."

"What's that like?"

"Uh, it's been tough. She's the littlest, so... We just hope she's safe. We want her to come home."

"Alright, thanks, Nate."

"No problem."

"Okay, Hollywood. Come on, kid, get out of this monkey suit," Alvey said, coming up behind Nate's chair and giving him a big bear hug. "Let's get to work. You," he said, pointing amiably at the interviewer, "get the hell out of my cage." Then back to Nate, "You're my favorite child."


"Laura, Laura, Laura… I know it's disappointing, but I'm just – I'm not interested. You know, I don't model. And believe it or not, I don't even really like cameras. I prefer my life undocumented."

The two had gone to get drinks together at a beach bar down the street. Jay was on his feet taking shot after shot, and Laura was sitting on a stool sipping a cocktail.

"Liar."

He was so close he could kiss her. And he wanted to, but something about her felt… unreachable. He was into that. He left a few inches of space between them.

"I'm a very rare species," he informed her. "I am difficult to capture."

"You were running around here half naked. Just be what you are!"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"You're an exhibitionist. You like to be looked at." She was almost smug as she explained him to himself.

He gaped at her. "Oh."

"You do," she insisted, reaching forward and stealing one of his shots.

Jay watched her, surprised and totally out of his element. He'd never met a girl so confident. "Okay."

"It's not a bad thing. It's bad if you're boring, but you're definitely not that."

And just like that, she had her hooks in him again. Jay couldn't get enough of this girl. She built him up and then tore him down just to do it all over again.

"If… I was interested… what would this photo shoot entail?" he cautiously asked.

"It would entail me taking pictures of you, and you getting paid," she said simply.

"Would I have any creative control?"

"No."

It was a clear, crisp answer. Jay nodded. "So I just gotta do whatever you say?"

"Yeah."

Jay's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah? Suppose I don't like the concept! Suppose you wanna dress me up in like, some sort of fucking baby diaper or shaking a rattle or like, some ridiculous outfit-"

She laughed, warm. It suited her. "Okay, that's a fetish, and this is professional."

"Hm, well, to tell you the truth, I have very strong opinions on fashion, Laura."

"Yeah, I can tell," she replied sarcastically. She reached into her camera bag. "Here, I'll tell you what. Why don't you come to my studio tomorrow night, and I'll tell you more about it?" She waved a sleek black business card at him.

Jay tilted his sunglasses down at her. "Oh, I got you."

"What?"

"Oh, I got you, girl, you-" He snatched her card with two fingers and dropped it on the bar top. "You are a control freak."

"How's that?"

"Cause you're making me wait!"

She laughed again, longer this time.

"That is a form of control!" Jay continued.

"You're paranoid," she accused.

"Fuck yes I am! I live under a constant threat of assault!" He shadow boxed some more. "Gotta keep your hands up!"

"I gotta go," she laughed.

"Where do you gotta go?" Jay inquired. "Come on, we're getting settled in here!"

"I have a dinner downtown," she said, standing up and shouldering her bag, "and you have this desperate need to be begged and adored, and I'm not the girl for that."

Jay nodded. "I'll tell you something. We've had a wonderful time having cocktails here this evening, and I've obviously shown that I'm much more than that Greek statue that you've seen outside there on the beach. I'm more than just muscle and glistening skin, and now you want me to say yes, but I'm not gonna do it. I gotta hold my ground. My line in the sand."

She leaned forward, and Jay almost thought she was going to kiss him, but then she dropped her voice and murmured, "I'll see you tomorrow night." She disappeared without looking back, and Jay couldn't help but grin to himself.

"Boom shakalaka!" he shouted, miming dunking a basketball. "He's on fire!"


Nate blinked at his screen, his mouth gaping open like a fish.

"What's wrong with you?" Jay asked, laughing lightly as he looked at his brother. They were sitting on Nate's bed swapping stories about how their days had gone. Jay talked for ten whole minutes about Laura and then asked Nate about the interview at Navy Street. Nate just happened to click on his email notification when he'd finished talking. It had been sitting there for an entire day (who even used email anymore?) when he decided he was bored enough to check it.

Nate closed his mouth, opened it as if he was going to speak, and then closed it again.

Jay's tone turned serious. "Nate. You okay?"

The younger Kulina boy looked over and swallowed. "She emailed me."

"What?!" Jay sat up and looked over Nate's shoulder.

"Look. It's her. It has to be. 'Undisclosed sender?' Who else would block their address?"

Jay grabbed the phone out of Nate's hand and quickly scanned the message. It was short and, honestly, a little banal, but it didn't matter. That was definitely Zee. "No shit."

"What's going on in here?" Christina asked, peeking around the corner into Nate's room.

"Nothing," Jay said, putting on a smile. "Just looking at Reddit."

"Oh. Well, I'm headed to work."

"Okay," the boys said together.

"Happy birthday, baby," Christina told Nate again.

"Thanks."

As soon as the door swung shut behind her, Jay was on his feet, staring intensely at Nate's phone. "We've got to figure out how to fucking trace this."

"Yeah, but Jay, we're never gonna get an IP address if we don't even have the email account she sent it from. Clearly she doesn't want us to know where she is."

"Yeah… but I know a guy."


It turned out Ryan didn't know how to trace it, but he did know a way to reply even without knowing where it came from. It took him an entire day, but he managed somehow. He called Jay as soon as he was finished and had them come over. He excused himself from the room to let Jay and Nate write out their message in private. Nate sat down at Ryan's clunky, black laptop and began typing.

Hey, Little Zebra.

I had a great birthday. Thanks for remembering. Jay did read the book of course. He crash landed on top of me and everything. Wish you could have seen it. I'm surprised you didn't send me a Taylor Swift card haha. (I know how much you secretly love her. I think of you every time that stupid Shake It Off song plays.)

It's so good to hear from you, you don't even know. We miss you so much. We're doing good though. I hope you're safe wherever you are. Jay says to tell you to eat more and stay warm. Please call us, we have so much to tell you. We love you.

Please come home.

Nate


As Zoey read Nate's message at the library two days later, her blood ran cold. She didn't think he would have been able to reply. And since he had, had he been able to trace her location?

It was way too good to hear from Nate, though - she let herself admit that much. She read the message in her brother's voice even before she saw the signature. And of course, she should have figured that Nate would tell Jay about the message and let him get a say in the response. But it comforted her in a way; Nate and Jay were still alright, and they were still together. That was the best thought in the world.

Still, she didn't want them to find her. She didn't think she could ever return to Venice, not after she ran away like that. Even if they said they wanted her back, who could really want her after what happened? She'd gotten herself raped, and she was cutting herself. She was too fucked up. They deserved better.

Her stomach was in knots, but luckily Sophie was there to ground her. They were at the library picking more books for bedtime. Zoey had been distracted last time and only gotten three, which meant they went through all of them in one night. Oops.

Sophie picked out some that she remembered liking when she was a few years younger. "My dad used to read us this one," she said. As soon as the words left her mouth, her face fell.

Zoey looked over at her and sensed that the girl needed a hug. She walked over and put an arm comfortingly around the younger runaway.

"I'm okay," Sophie murmured. She stayed in Zoey's grasp for a moment before forcing herself to crouch down to study the bottom shelf.

Zoey watched her sadly for a few seconds and then resumed looking as well. She was starting to understand the way Ellen felt about her.


"I heard Alvey can be an asshole."

"Who said that?"

"Some of the guys at my old gym."

Ryan was lounging on the floor with the new girl Lisa had found. Her name was Alicia, and she was gorgeous – dark skin with even darker wavy hair and big brown eyes that crinkled around the edges when she grinned. She had a loud, raspy voice and a sharp wit to match.

"Yeah, probably guys that he ran out of there," Ryan smirked.

"Any advice how I can avoid that?" she asked.

"Yeah. Work hard, have talent," he replied easily. "He sees that and he won't leave you alone."

She chuckled, taking it in. "That's good to know."

"I'm serious!" He changed the subject. "So what's up with you, you got anything coming up?"

She sighed. "I wish. Lisa says we should wait and make sure it's the right fight."

"Smart. Listen to her. She knows what she's doing."

"You've known her a long time, right?"

"A long time. Since before Alvey."

"Yeah, what is up with that?" she asked, unknowingly treading into dangerous territory.

"What is up with what?" Ryan asked cautiously.

"I mean, they're running the place together, they're having a-"

"Yo, Ryan!" Alvey interrupted, calling from several feet away. "My office. Now."

"Ooooh," Ryan murmured to Alicia. He stood up and followed his coach into his office. "Yeah?"

"What the fuck is this?" Alvey asked sharply, holding up an envelope.

Well, fuck. Word got around quick. "I know we usually do ten percent-"

"No, we always do ten percent. Every fighter pays ten percent. This way I don't have to have these stupid fucking conversations."

Ryan kept his voice calm as he defended himself. "You know, I'm still getting back on my feet, coach. I got lawyer bills, I got rent…"

"Well, I – wait, I thought your place was free."

"Yeah, but I still got power, I got cable. Look, I'm not trying to dick you over, this is real-"

"Do me a favor and shut the fuck up," Alvey aggressively cut him off. "You got popped for cocaine. Fucking cocaine! What the fuck are you thinking?"

Fuck. So Alvey already knew about the drugs, too. He thought he had a few more days at least. "Hey, I… I was nervous about the fight. I just fucking spun out, coach."

"You are walking a very fine line, my friend," Alvey told him through gritted teeth. "I'm not even talking about your career. I'm talking about going back to prison. Your fucking life, Ryan." He lowered his voice. "Do we need to get you into some kind of treatment facility?"

"No, no." Fuck. Three lines of coke, and all the trust and respect Ryan had built up with his coach had shattered. That's all it took.

"We could probably do it quietly," Alvey continued, almost more to himself than to Ryan.

"No, I'm not doing that. This is not happening. This is one time; it's never gonna happen again."

"Neither is this," Alvey said, picking up the measly envelope of cash that Ryan had given Lisa and throwing it angrily down on the desk. "This never happens again or you're out of here. You're fucking done."

A moment of quiet settled over the office, signaling the end of the confrontation.

"So… what do we do now?" Ryan murmured.

Alvey sighed. "Well, because we're all crooked as fuck in this business, Garo's willing to bury it. He wants your next six fights."

"How much?" Ryan asked wearily.

"Not what you're worth." He grew angry again. "Plus, I don't even know if you have six fights left."

At Ryan's confused expression, Alvey elaborated and held up two fingers a centimeter apart. "You're this close to fucking it all up again." He shook his head, disgusted. "Amazing."

Ryan rubbed an ashamed hand over his face. He was about to say something else when he thought better of it, tucked his hands into his sweatshirt pocket, and headed out Alvey's door.


The microwave timer dinged in the lounge, catching Kacey's attention. She looked up from her phone for the first time in thirty minutes just in time to see Nate pulling out a paper plate with a piece of chicken breast.

"I thought we were going to get Mexican," she reminded him.

"We are."

"But you're about to eat."

"So?"

"So… why would we get Mexican?"

"Well, we can still go," he told her, his mouth full of food. "I'll sit with you."

"Oh," she said sarcastically. "That's fun."

Nate inwardly groaned. "Kacey, I gotta eat after I train. That doesn't mean you still can't go get Mexican." He took another bite.

She raised her eyebrows. "And so I'm supposed to just go eat a bunch of fucking tacos in front of you, Nate? No, we're supposed to go together."

"You're right," he said, chewing quickly. He swallowed. "That was the plan. We'll go. We'll get Mexican. It's fine."

"You don't want to," she said quietly.

"No, no, I do," he lied, "I do." He needed to keep her if he was going to keep pretending to be straight, and that meant putting up with her again. She was putting up with him, after all. He forced a small smile. "I'll find something there; it's not a big deal." At her silence, he prompted, "Alright?"

"Okay," she whispered, smiling a little too.

"Okay?" he confirmed.

"Okay." She smiled for real then. She was pretty, Nate had to give her that much. He leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips because that's what boys were supposed to do.


"Hey, man. Hey, bud," Ryan smiled as Keith came over to him. Even though he was still in an orange jumpsuit, it was always so good to see the guy. He was like a little brother to Ryan, and as annoying as he could sometimes be, Ryan still felt protective over him and missed him when they'd been apart.

"Did you win your fight?" Keith questioned eagerly before he even sat down.

"Yeah, I did. I did, actually. Thanks for asking."

Keith's proud smile was so bright that it hurt Ryan's heart.

"Was it crowded?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"Ryan, it must have been electric," Keith stated happily. "Was Lisa there?"

"She was."

"And did you let her have sex with you?"

Ryan bit his lip awkwardly. "No, man, uh. That's not… that's not happening, man."

"Oh. Why not?" Keith's eyes were wide, sad.

"Well, uh. She and Alvey are having a kid together and we're just-"

"What?!" Keith exclaimed, his face screwing up in anger and confusion. "What the fuck?! What the fuck, Ryan?!" His voice echoed loudly through the small visiting room.

"Hey," Ryan placated.

"Ryan!"

"Shh," Ryan muttered, putting up a hand to quiet him.

"He took – he – why?!"

"I don't know, man. They're together now. It's – relax."

"How long have you known about it?" Keith asked, concerned about Ryan now.

"It's – we're not talking about this, Keith. Honestly, I'm good, it's fine. Just calm down. Got it?"

Keith blew out a breath. "Well, she fucked up," he grumbled.

"Okay," Ryan said shortly, but then he realized Keith was being sweet in his own way. He sighed. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"How's, how's my house?" Keith asked.

"It's nice," Ryan said sincerely, thankful for the change of topic. "It's nice, man."

Keith smiled proudly. "I know. It's our – it's our house."

"Yeah, bud," Ryan smiled. He glanced around nervously as the door buzzed. It was a different prison, but just being in the environment made Ryan antsy.

"There's two bathrooms," Keith told him, "I don't know if you saw."

"Yeah! Luxurious. I only use one."

"Well, that's cause you're humble."

"Hell yeah, dude. Thanks." Ryan held up his fist for Keith to bump.

"I don't know if I can touch you," Keith said sadly.

Prison rules. Wheeler had forgotten. "Yeah," he muttered, looking away.


"Luis!" Ellen called, coming up to the doorframe. All the kids were sitting in a circle playing Uno, but they paused when they heard her voice. "I got a surprise for you, buddy. Come here."

Everyone got up and trailed after Luis as he followed Ellen down the hall like a puppy. She led him to the entry and gave him a little push through the door. He gasped and then cried, "Abuela!" He ran to a small, wrinkly woman clad in a purple dress. She threw her arms around him. They were both sniffling and smiling.

Joseph shook his head and disappeared back down the hall, but all the other kids remained, hovering around Zoey. She wrapped Julia and Kennedy in each arm. Kennedy clung to the bottom of Zoey's tank top, and Julia buried her face in Zoey's side. "It's okay," she wanted to tell them, but her voice wouldn't come out.

Luis and his grandmother were conversing quickly in Spanish, and Zoey didn't bother trying to pick out what they were saying. The emotions on their faces were enough. She was truly happy for him, but it was hard to watch. It made her miss her own family more than she had for several months.

The beginning had definitely been the hardest. She'd finally grown out of wanting to call Nate to ask a question or accidentally leaving the door open during her nap so Jay could come close it behind her. She missed her talks with Lisa and the way she'd finally started growing closer to her father. She missed her family so much, but the feelings had subsided a bit and definitely gotten more manageable. But now it was like she was feeling it all over again.

Tabby sniffed behind her and picked Jamie up off the floor. Zoey turned and gave her a sad smile, as if to say, "I know." Tabby moved forward, and Zoey let go of Julia to put her arm around Tabby's shoulders.

Ellen looked at them all sadly. "Alright, you guys. Say goodbye to Luis."

Kennedy, of course, got to him first. "I love you," she told him. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Aw, Kennedy," he said. "I'll miss you, too."

"Me, too," Julia said, stepping next to her best friend to throw her arms around Luis' middle.

When the little girls backed up, it was Tabby and Jamie's turn to say goodbye. "I don't want you to leave!" Jamie cried, flinging his arms around Luis as well. The older boy scooped him up and gave him a big hug.

"I'm sure they'll let you stay with your sister now." It went unspoken that there was no way Ellen would let Jamie stay alone in a room with Joseph. "I'll miss you, little buddy."

Tabby was crying a little when she got her hug. "Thanks for taking care of Jamie. You're a great friend."

Luis got teary then, too. "No problem, Tab. I'm sure I'll see you around," he lied.

She stepped back and nodded.

Zoey went up and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned into her, squeezing her tightly. "Adios, Dolphin." And then Ellen. "Adios, Ellen! Gracias." He turned to the kids. "Bye, you guys. Mantenerse a salvo. Te amo." Stay safe. I love you.

"Bye, Luis!" they cried. It was a loud chorus of goodbyes and we love yous, and then the door swung shut behind him and it was over. Tabby retreated to the girls' room, and the rest of the kids (which was only 3 now, not counting Joseph) went back to the boys' room play Uno.

Zoey tried to stay positive – the fact that he was going to a safe place was literally the whole point of the shelter. Kids came and went all the time, but it was hard not to make friends and get attached. And Luis was always so sweet.

Zoey's head was aching, and she wasn't sure why, so she silently excused herself to the staff room to lie down on her mat. She laid down on the thin pillow and pulled her small, square blanket up to her chin. As much as she liked being here, and as much as she didn't want to go home to Venice, and as much as she didn't want to bother her brothers, she would have killed for Jay and Nate to have walked through that door instead of Luis' grandmother. She hated herself for that. She glanced behind herself to make sure the door was shut firmly before she let herself cry.