A/N: A few more chapters to go. I keep thinking I'm about to wrap it up and then, it keeps going. I hope everyone is still enjoying this, and I promise, a conclusion is coming...
Sarah almost regretted telling Peter. She had taken the right steps to protect herself, but her father never ceased to surprise her with his resourcefulness. She ran through the checklist in her head. She had only told Peter the necessary parts of the story, and she had prepared a bag just in case she had to run. She had just enough money stashed away to last her for a few days. Thanks to Cole, she had an address of an old warehouse where Darek was probably staying. If she had to run, she would ask Cole to come with her. She owed him that. She had everything planned, just in case. She was not going to another school. Not again.
Peter was never one hesitate to take action. Barely twenty minutes had passed between when Sarah left his office and when Cole was called in. Cole had an idea why he was there, but he wasn't sure how much help he could be.
Peter got right to the point. "Cole, tell me what you know about Darek."
"Did Sarah say something to you?"
"I just need to know what you can tell me." Peter sat down at his desk. He had been pacing while waiting for Cole to arrive from kitchen duty.
"He's my best friend. We watched out for each other on the streets."
"Is he a gang member? A drug user?"
Cole shook his head. "He's not into that sort of thing. I mean, sure he uses occasionally, but drugs are most of the reason he's on the street in the first place."
"Why's that?"
"His mom. She's real strung out. Up and disappears for weeks at a time. He has to fend for himself."
"What about his dad?"
Cole shook his head. "A real loser. Isn't around, but I'm pretty sure he threatened Darek."
"He threatened him?"
"Yah. Darek went for help once when his mom disappeared. I think he was 9 maybe." Cole got lost in thought. "Yah, 9 I think. His dad showed up when the police called him. All I know is that his dad took off the next day and Darek showed up at my house. He never went for help again."
"He knew where to find his dad?"
Cole shrugged. "I guess. I never asked."
"Have you ever met his dad?"
Cole shook his head. "No. Met his mom once. That's about all I needed."
Peter looked up, concerned.
"Look, we didn't sit around talking about this kind of stuff. We watched out for each other. Our lives were screwed up, we knew that. Talking about it didn't change the fact that we were living on the streets."
"Do you know where I could find Darek?"
"Yah," Cole was unsure. "He's probably staying at this old warehouse we used to hang out at."
Peter slid a piece of paper towards him. "Draw me a map."
Cole had never seen Peter so determined. He hoped that he did find Darek. Sarah and Darek deserved to see each other. It was only fair. They had both been through enough in their lives.
Cole did the best he could and gave the paper back to Peter.
"Thanks Cole. You can go back to the dorms now."
Cole nodded and left the office without a word.
Peter knew what he had to do. He called Roger and the two of them were packed and heading to Georgia before the Cliffhangers had even started lunch.