you'd do all this for me and my dad. I don't understand."
Pete slaps my shoulder and shakes it. "You're one of us, man."
"I am?" I feel a flush of pleasure spread across my chest.
"Sure. We look after one another, don't we, guys?"
"Wuh-huh," Shelby says, nodding.
"Hey, are you kidding, man?" Haze joins in. "We're having a blast. Your father may be nuts, but at least he likes you, right? Right? My dad, whoa! I'm just
sooo
glad to be out of the house." He takes the second plate of food Pete holds out to him and sets it on the table. "Come on—eat up before it gets cold."
Shelby grabs the plate and drags it toward her. "Great, I'm starving," she says. She picks up a slice of bacon and bites into it. She shrugs. "Not too bad."
"Man, you sure can scarf down a lot of food," Haze says. "You should have seen her last night, Pete. Total pig-lady."
I sit down next to Shelby and pour some syrup on my pancakes. I close my eyes and take a bite. Vegan or not, it's delicious.
CRAZY GLUE :
Too bad we're just a figment of his imagination. Why don't we get to eat anything?
I open my eyes and all three of them are staring at me. Did I just say that out loud?
"What? What?" I look at them, worried.
They laugh.
"It's just I've never seen someone enjoy his food so much," Pete says. He sets the third plate of food down on the table and Haze sits down.
"All right, I'm looking forward to this, man," he says. "It's freezing in this house." He rubs his hands together. "Gotta stoke."
I look at Pete and Haze, still in their jackets and with their hats pulled down over their ears, and Shelby, my blanket wrapped around her, and I'm embarrassed. "Sorry about the cold, guys."
"Yeah, no probs, no probs," Haze says, nodding and shuddering at the same time. He stuffs a whole pancake into his mouth and the syrup runs down his chin.
"That's so gross!" Shelby says, wrinkling up her nose. "Try eating like a human, why don't you."
"Grouch," Haze says, getting right up in her face.
Shelby swats him away.
Pete comes over to the table and sits down with his plate of food and a mug of tea. I remember that he was supposed to have had the intervention with his father last night, so I ask him how it went.
Pete nods and takes a sip of tea. "It went okay. What can I say? We had the intervention coach there, and my mom and my two brothers and I, and then my dad's parents and his sister and brother. We each told my dad how his doing drugs was affecting us, so he's crying the whole time and saying how sorry he is and that he's going to stop; he doesn't need to go into rehab, blah, blah, blah."
Shelby smacks her coffee mug down on the table and some of the coffee sloshes out. "What? I hope you told him to get his ass in rehab, and fast. He so doesn't get it, does he? You told him, didn't you? You told him he's out, right?"
Pete shrugs. "Yeah, we told him. We said we loved him, but he either went with Charley, our intervention coach, right away to rehab, or he was on his own. We said we would have nothing to do with him until he got clean." Pete stares into his mug of tea and his faraway expression makes me think he's reliving the whole intervention scene.
Shelby slaps him on the back. "Way to go."
Haze says, "
Sooo,
did your old man go, or didn't he?"
Pete looks around at the three of us, his face blank; then a smile spreads across his face. "He's in. Went into rehab last night around nine."
We all slap his back and congratulate him.
I'm pleased for Pete; I really am.
CRAZY GLUE :
But...
But I feel strange. I know it's a good thing his father's in rehab, but he's in an institution. They'll lock him up. Maybe they'll tie him down. He won't have any control. No. I don't like that. If anyone ever tries to take Dad from me and put him away, I'll kill him. I'll just kill him.
Chapter Thirteen
L AST NIGHT when I heard my dad tuning his violin, he stretched the strings so tight I thought they'd all bust. They made little screeching and scritching sounds
Pete slaps my shoulder and shakes it. "You're one of us, man."
"I am?" I feel a flush of pleasure spread across my chest.
"Sure. We look after one another, don't we, guys?"
"Wuh-huh," Shelby says, nodding.
"Hey, are you kidding, man?" Haze joins in. "We're having a blast. Your father may be nuts, but at least he likes you, right? Right? My dad, whoa! I'm just
sooo
glad to be out of the house." He takes the second plate of food Pete holds out to him and sets it on the table. "Come on—eat up before it gets cold."
Shelby grabs the plate and drags it toward her. "Great, I'm starving," she says. She picks up a slice of bacon and bites into it. She shrugs. "Not too bad."
"Man, you sure can scarf down a lot of food," Haze says. "You should have seen her last night, Pete. Total pig-lady."
I sit down next to Shelby and pour some syrup on my pancakes. I close my eyes and take a bite. Vegan or not, it's delicious.
CRAZY GLUE :
Too bad we're just a figment of his imagination. Why don't we get to eat anything?
I open my eyes and all three of them are staring at me. Did I just say that out loud?
"What? What?" I look at them, worried.
They laugh.
"It's just I've never seen someone enjoy his food so much," Pete says. He sets the third plate of food down on the table and Haze sits down.
"All right, I'm looking forward to this, man," he says. "It's freezing in this house." He rubs his hands together. "Gotta stoke."
I look at Pete and Haze, still in their jackets and with their hats pulled down over their ears, and Shelby, my blanket wrapped around her, and I'm embarrassed. "Sorry about the cold, guys."
"Yeah, no probs, no probs," Haze says, nodding and shuddering at the same time. He stuffs a whole pancake into his mouth and the syrup runs down his chin.
"That's so gross!" Shelby says, wrinkling up her nose. "Try eating like a human, why don't you."
"Grouch," Haze says, getting right up in her face.
Shelby swats him away.
Pete comes over to the table and sits down with his plate of food and a mug of tea. I remember that he was supposed to have had the intervention with his father last night, so I ask him how it went.
Pete nods and takes a sip of tea. "It went okay. What can I say? We had the intervention coach there, and my mom and my two brothers and I, and then my dad's parents and his sister and brother. We each told my dad how his doing drugs was affecting us, so he's crying the whole time and saying how sorry he is and that he's going to stop; he doesn't need to go into rehab, blah, blah, blah."
Shelby smacks her coffee mug down on the table and some of the coffee sloshes out. "What? I hope you told him to get his ass in rehab, and fast. He so doesn't get it, does he? You told him, didn't you? You told him he's out, right?"
Pete shrugs. "Yeah, we told him. We said we loved him, but he either went with Charley, our intervention coach, right away to rehab, or he was on his own. We said we would have nothing to do with him until he got clean." Pete stares into his mug of tea and his faraway expression makes me think he's reliving the whole intervention scene.
Shelby slaps him on the back. "Way to go."
Haze says, "
Sooo,
did your old man go, or didn't he?"
Pete looks around at the three of us, his face blank; then a smile spreads across his face. "He's in. Went into rehab last night around nine."
We all slap his back and congratulate him.
I'm pleased for Pete; I really am.
CRAZY GLUE :
But...
But I feel strange. I know it's a good thing his father's in rehab, but he's in an institution. They'll lock him up. Maybe they'll tie him down. He won't have any control. No. I don't like that. If anyone ever tries to take Dad from me and put him away, I'll kill him. I'll just kill him.
Chapter Thirteen
L AST NIGHT when I heard my dad tuning his violin, he stretched the strings so tight I thought they'd all bust. They made little screeching and scritching sounds
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