“The thing is,” I continued, “that stuff is all about me, my mistakes. And I want to talk to you guys about Jasper, not me. Because she hasn’t done anything wrong. So can we hold off on me and just focus on her right now?”

“We can try that, Leah,” said Mom. “We can try. Jasper seems like a nice kid. She really does. She has a sort of glow, doesn’t she?”

“She does!” I blurted out gratefully. “She totally does. Honestly, I don’t understand how someone so great came out of something so terrible. It’s like she hasn’t had any chance to be happy, but somehow she knows how to do it anyway. It’s like she’s so full of joy, nothing can squish it.”

Mom didn’t say anything, just nodded.

“So that’s why we have to help her. Obviously, she can’t stay where she’s living any longer, or move back with her mom, but . . .”

Dad raised a hand. “Now, hold your horses, Leah,” he said. “We don’t even know what we’re dealing with. What exactly is her story? Even if what you told us is true, what about her dad? Her grandparents? Someone?”

“There are people,” I admitted, “but they just aren’t there. She’s never met her dad, and her mom drinks a lot and got in trouble for drunk driving and other stuff, so they took Jasper away to go live with her sister, but, like we told you last night, her sister’s husband . . . he hits her. I didn’t ask about more than that.” I took a breath. “You can ask Jasper, I guess. If you really want to. I’m not sure how much she’ll tell you. She’s pretty scared.”

“Poor girl,” said Mom. She reached out to me and squeezed my knee.

“That’s terrible . . . if it’s true,” said Dad slowly.

“Of course it’s true!” I said. “Why would she lie? Why would she run away if it wasn’t true?”

Dad shook his head. “People do all kinds of strange things, Leah. You’re too young to really know that. But—”

I sat up straight. “Jasper’s not a liar!” I said firmly.

“In any case,” said Dad, “something’s very wrong in her life. And I feel bad for her. I just don’t know what we can really do. I mean, you can be her friend, of course, no matter what happens. And maybe if she needs a lawyer, we could help her financially. That might make a difference. But—”

“No. I don’t mean lawyers. I mean, can we help her? Just help her ourselves? Like I’ve been doing?”