Then the four kids who liked to talk, talked about what they’d be doing if they weren’t visiting family members. It turned out they wouldn’t be doing much, except the kid in the sweat suit, who was here to visit his aunt, who was his mom’s twin sister. He was a dancer and would be making a video with his crew when he finished visiting. He was the coolest person in the room by about six miles.

What I learned from listening to the kids was that the patients at the treatment center drink, take drugs, gamble, and some of them are addicted to gaming, or they have a mental illness. It’s called the Chase Clinic because of the doctor who started it.

I didn’t say anything, but I was confused. My dad didn’t take drugs or drink that much. He gambles, but he’s extremely good at it. He was accused of something he didn’t do. Maybe that gave him emotional damage?

I wondered if my sister was going to end up in this group. She and Lavender and Cavendish would be the queens of it, along with the other talkers.

I’d been in there about five minutes when Elizabeth poked her head in.

“Ah, Rodney. There you are.” She didn’t look mad. In fact, she looked sort of happy. “You’ve found our Rebound Group.”

“I got lost,” I said.

“This is a good place to get lost to,” she said.

“Hey, Elizabeth,” said the talkers.

“It’s good to see you all,” she said. Then she turned back to me. “Rodney? Are you ready to come back to my office?”

I nodded, got up, and waved at the kids in the circle.

“Later, Rodney,” said the sweat suit kid, whose name was Zach.

“Come back and see us so you can not talk some more,” said Lindsay.

When Elizabeth and I were back in her office, she closed the door.

“That group has been useful for many of our patients’ family members.”

My mind was busy with questions. Why was my dad here instead of in a lawyer’s office getting his name cleared? I admit, there was also the part of me that didn’t want to know what he was doing in the Chase Clinic.

I stared at a plant that had leaves with triangular edges, like the spine on a dinosaur. There were bright-pink flowers at the ends of the spiky leaves. I wondered how long it would take me to kill it.

“Rodney,” said Elizabeth. “I understand that you don’t want to talk, but ignoring this situation and shutting down won’t make it go away.”

I looked at her. “I know.”

“None of this is your fault, but unfortunately, you have to live with the aftermath and it’s going to influence your life.”

My ears started to buzz, I think from how much they didn’t want to hear.