Souls in Peril by Sherry Gammon

escorting Izzy out of the room by her arm.
    “ You know what, fat boy? I don ’ t like this little attitude you ’ ve developed. You better watch your mouth. ”
    Refusing to let JD get upset , he walked Izzy outside. “ I ’ m going to head home. My dad ’ s on a date so he won ’ t be back till the morning. You can come over if you want. Maybe we can rent a movie or something. ” She held out her left index finger again. “ Oh, and I ’ m glad to see you ’ re finally wearing your contacts. They look good.”
    Max smiled, hook ing his finger around hers . Again in unison they said, “ Keep to the code, ” with one hard shake , and she left. He went back inside and straight to his room, pulling out JD ’ s notebooks. He chose the titled The Princess Emma and settled on the bed to read. He figured since JD spent the morning working out with him, the least he could do was spend some time doing what JD enjoyed. Plus he wanted to get to know him a little better and this seemed the perfect way to do that.
    Later, Tim forbade him to go to Izzy ’ s. Instead , he spent the rest of the evening cleaning the house under the direction of Tim, who spent the evening on the phone talking to someone named Merissa. Undoubtedly the bleached blond, judging from the crude exchanges Max overheard.
    Tim left ten minutes before Mel was due home, only she called to say she would be late. Max finished up the last of his homework and went to bed. He hadn ’ t slept well last night, and after pushing JD ’ s body to the limit all day, he was exhausted.
    The next morning , he woke to the smell of bacon. He jumped out of bed and quietly went into the kitchen in case it was Tim cooking.
    He saw Mel, her hair pulled into a tight bun on top of her head, feverishly turning bacon in a skillet. The t-shirt and shorts she wore both had seen better days.
    “ Good morning, sweetie. ” She gave Max a kiss on the cheek. “ I knew the smell of bacon would get you up. ”
    Max took a piece from a nearby plate and bit into it. It was the best bacon he ’ d ever eaten. He picked up the package of the uncooked meat and discovered why. It was real pork bacon. His mom bought only turkey bacon. He took another bite and about moaned out loud. Sorry, mom. This so beats your turkey bacon .
    “ Your one and only day off this week and you ’ re making breakfast, mom? ” Max tried for another piece, but Mel playfully smacked his hand away.
    “ A girl deserves a big breakfast on her birthday. ” Mel added four more strips to the pan.
    “ Today ’ s your birthday? Mom, I di—ah, forgot. I ’ m sorry. ” Thanks for the heads up, Gabe.
    “ Don ’ t worry about it, sweetie. You ’ ve had a rough few weeks with the accident and being in the hospital. ” She took out a plate and set it down on the table for Max.
    “ Where ’ s Tim ? Sleeping? ” Max asked.
    “ No, bless his heart. He promised to help a friend move today so he ’ ll be gone most of the day. He did clean the house for me yesterday from top to bottom. ” She slid three pieces of bacon on Max ’ s plate.
    “ I cleaned the house for you from top to bottom. He sat on his butt and talked on the phone to someone named Merissa. ” Max hop ed to make her angry, so angry she ’ d toss Tim out.
    Instead, she laughed. “ That little stinker, taking credit for your work. Thank you, sweetie. ” She kissed the top of his head. “ It looks wonderful. ” Mel set a few envelopes next to her plate and he watched as she opened the small pile of birthday cards. She smiled at a few, setting them aside as she continued. Max ate his bacon slowly, having no idea when he ’ d get it again. He took his plate over to the stove for another piece and when he came back to the table, Mel was crying.
    “ What ’ s wrong? ” He set his plate down and slid his chair closer to Mel.
    “ Oh , nothing. ” She waved her hand as i f to shoo a fly.
    “ Mom, you ’ re crying. Obviously something ’ s