I throw myself onto my bed. Dewey nuzzles her face into mine, trying to make me feel better, when really, I should be the one comforting her. All the yelling is still echoing in my head. So is that word . . . dementia. It keeps repeating, and I know for sure that Gramps is not okay. I can’t hold it in anymore. I sob. I sob the way I did the day Jude left. Dewey licks my tears.

I could run away.

“What!” I say out loud. “No! Don’t even think that.”

It would be hard, especially now that I know.

“Know what?” I ask her.

What it’s like to have a home.

“I’m not going to let that happen. Moms are angry, but I know I can talk to them. Dewey, the fight wasn’t really about you.”

It seemed like it was.

“Once Mom meets you—really meets you and sees how amazing you are—I know she’ll change her mind. But no growling.”

As long as there are no cages.

“We don’t do cages here.”

We snuggle up together in my bed. Dewey falls asleep, but not me. I stare at the ceiling. The house is totally quiet now, and I hear a bloopbloop sound come from my laptop, which means Jude must have gotten home from school by now and seen my message.

Not long after, I hear footsteps in the hallway. I open my eyes; I must have fallen asleep. Dewey stirs in my arms and looks toward the door.

Knock, knock. “It’s me,” Noah mumbles.

“Come in,” I say, hoping it’s nice Noah and not butthead Noah tonight.

The door opens, and Catniss slinks inside and leaps onto my bed. Noah sets his backpack down in the hall and steps inside too. I wait for him to tell me how badly I screwed up.

When he opens his mouth, though, he laughs. “So I guess you’re pretty much grounded for life, huh?” It’s not that it’s funny, this situation, but his jokey tone gives me permission to smile, like maybe it will be okay someday, even if it’s not okay today.

“Moms told you everything?”

He nods and reaches out his hand for Dewey to sniff, and then pats her head. “It’s about time we had a dog around here, if you ask me.” He starts to get comfortable, rubbing Dewey under the chin. But then he stops abruptly and looks all around my room. “Wait a minute, where’s Gramps? Mom told me to come up here and ask you guys to come downstairs.”

“Gramps hasn’t been up here all day,” I answer.

Chapter 31

MISSING

Noah and I check all the rooms upstairs. We race to the kitchen to tell Moms. Dewey and Catniss follow along behind us like they’re our shadows.

Mom and Mama are in the living room sitting together on the couch.