I can take care of him, Robbie thinks to himself, a little frightened by how badly he wants to do it. Yeah. I can do that.

Chapter Seven

Lance

Fourteen years ago.

Since that first day of school, Danny has looked for Lance every time he climbs to the top of the bus’s stairs, and Lance has made sure there’s always an empty seat next to him.

Over the first couple of weeks, they sometimes didn’t speak—just took turns casting shy looks at each other and then hastily looking away. Gradually, they spoke more and more. First, they talked about The Team, then other books, and then their teachers and classmates. By September, there were no more shy looks, and they were together as much as possible both on and off the bus. It filled Lance with his first taste of joy, something so bright and incandescent that he didn’t know how it could be caused by just one person.

By November, Lance is running out of excuses for why he has to turn down Danny’s daily invitations for getting together outside of school.

But we’re neighbors, Danny would exclaim, and Robbie already said okay!

So, Lance comes up with a plan.

There’s no way his father will tell him that he can go to the Chases’ house for a playdate, so Lance hasn’t bothered to ask. But, on Saturdays, his father almost always sleeps until noon, and Lance has been playing in the woods without his father interfering for as long as he can remember. Lately, he’s done so with more purpose, exploring the property line. He knows the spot where the trees break and he can see up the far bank to the tight strands of wire fence that border the Chases’ spread. He’s pretty sure he can walk there, cross the creek, get to Danny’s, and be back before his dad wakes up.

He’s told Danny his dad will drop him off—a lie he’d rather not have told. What he and Danny have feels too precious to jeopardize with untruths, like even a small betrayal could poison the pure, perfect thing between them. But, he has a feeling that certain truths could kill it, too. Danny looks at Lance with the biggest grin, the brightest light in his eyes. Lance has no idea how he earned Danny’s attention, or why Danny enjoys being around him as much as Lance enjoys being around Danny, but whatever cosmic misunderstanding is working in his favor, he wants it to last as long as possible. If Danny knew the dirty, ugly truth about what Lance goes home to, he’d see Lance differently.

So, Lance is willing to lie, but only when he absolutely has to.

The first part of the walk is easier than he thought it would be. He reaches the creekbank, stepping across where the silt is piled high in waves like squishy stepping stones. He doesn’t get his socks wet, which is an accomplishment in his old boots. Even though he’s patched them up with tape and glue, they still have a zillion tiny holes in the soles. He has to wear two pairs of socks just to keep every rock he walks over from making him wince.