‘He must be humiliated. Bruised ego and all,’ she says. ‘It’s a guy thing. He’s sulking now, but he’ll get over it, and I think you have a strong enough foundation to be friends again. Keep trying to talk to him.’

I sigh, knowing she’s right. I don’t want to leave things this way; after everything we’ve gone through together, I really do care about him.

I move onto my thermal leggings. I’ll be glad never to see them again.

‘Is Adam back today?’ Melody zips up her large backpack and stands it up. It falls down.

‘They’re doing his paperwork now and he said we’d all have lunch together. My grandparents moved their flights to Chicago to tomorrow, two hours after us, so I guess he’ll be at the airport all day saying goodbye to everyone.’

‘The house will be empty after we’re all gone; it will just be him and Jaxon.’

‘Yep. Him and Jaxon,’ I say. I load the rest of the gifts into my bag and move onto my toiletries. ‘Doug’s still in gaol—they’re not letting him out so quickly this time. My father told me that after Doug hit him, he didn’t even stop the car to check he was okay. Maybe he didn’t notice?’

‘Maybe,’ Melody agrees.

‘I heard he drove into town and ran two red lights.’

‘Lucky he didn’t kill anyone.’

‘And when the police caught up with him at a bar,’ I say, ‘he was asleep on the table.’

‘The guy needs professional help. Poor Jaxon.’

‘I know. At least he has my father.’

‘And you have me. And Paula and Dave and Oliver and all your friends back home.’

‘And Bella and Chirp, of course. I can’t wait to see everyone.’ I squeeze the last remaining clothes into my suitcase. It feels good to be talking so freely with Melody. Not censoring myself at all. We’ve come a long way since we flew in.

The front door closes with a bang. I abandon my packing and run to the top of the stairs.

‘Would you like a cup of coffee, Adam dear?’ I hear my grandmother’s voice from the kitchen. ‘I’ll make a fresh pot.’

My heart beats a little faster. My dad’s here. I grab the framed photograph I bought from a gallery in town—a sunset over Denali Mountain. I used up all my money, but no regrets. He’ll have something on his wall, something to know how much I do care—despite this trip, which was mostly disaster. This is our last day before I fly tomorrow.

‘Sky!’ He greets me at the bottom of the stairs and gives me a hug, quickly stepping back. ‘Ouch, sorry.’ He grasps his ribs.

‘Hi Dad!’ The word still feels strange in my mouth. But good too.

‘Dad?’ His eyes mist.