“Well, maybe I will!” I scream. “Right now, what I want to do is figure out how to get home. And get away from you!”

“Don’t you even care that everyone lied to you? If it weren’t for me, you’d never know anything about Frank Gómez. You wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for me.”

“Exactly!” I shout. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you! I would be at home and I wouldn’t have missed the bus and I wouldn’t have lied to my mom. I’d be having dinner with my family—you might not know what that is, Mercedes. A family? You know, a bunch of people who love you and want to be with you?”

She looks like she’s going to start to cry, but instead she spins around and starts running. Fast. Mercedes’s legs move like a graceful racehorse. Her back is straight, her bag flapping against her hip. I wipe at the tears streaming down my face, but I don’t look away from her running. Her arms pump at her sides, not taking up extra energy, just moving her forward.

The farther she gets from me, the heavier the rock in my stomach gets. I think of all the people who have left me. Francisco Gómez was the first, even if I never even saw him leave. Our cat, Peacock, who my mom had since she was pregnant with me, died when I was six. Then my grandpa John, my mom’s dad, when I was eight. Mai is gone now, too. As I watch Mercedes disappear around the corner of the science building, I know she’s right. I am scared. I’m terrified of being alone, of being lonely. Of my mom not having time for me. Of my life changing. Of living my new life shared with three strangers. Of being forever the new kid at school. Of being left at Northern Madrone College by myself. Of not finding Francisco Gómez. I scoop up my backpack and run. I don’t run gracefully or fast. But I keep my focus and I work hard to catch up with her.

CHAPTER 34 Mercedes