When we got back to Devins house Kenzie ran in the living room. She was wearing a very cute doctors outfit. She ran up to Devin. "Are you ok!?" He took in her uniform. "I don't know Doctor i may need stitches." He told her. Her eyes grew wide. "Where did he shoot you?" She asked wimpering a little. He knelt down. "No sweetie i didnt get hit. The bad man did." I stood behind Devin. He was such a good big brother. "I don't care if the man was bad nobody deserves to get shot." "Well Kenz this man was bad and sometimes bad people deserve bad things." I hissed at him. "Devin, do you mean bad people or your dad. She is six." "You're right I'm sorry. Kenz you're right nobody deserves to get shot." Of course if somebody is attacking you shoot them but how do you explain that to a six year old?

                                    "Why didnt they just send him where they sent mommy and daddy?" "Well see the people who took mommy and daddy away didnt know this man was bad." "Didn't anybody try to tell them?" "They did but they didn't listen and so they couldnt take him away and now the man is gone." She turned to me. "Did he go where your daddy went?" I thought about her question. "Only God knows that. But I suppose so." I said smiling at her.

                                    She nodded her head. "Can i give you stitches anyways?" She asked him opening her bag. "Ok deal." She intructed him to lay on the couch. She pulled out a pink box full of barbie band-aids. She opened five of them and placed them on his arm. "There we go." She said taking a step back to admire her work. He held his arm up. "How do i look?" He asked me "Very cute." I said. Devins grandmaw ran in. "Oh my sweet kids i didn't know yall were home! Devin what happened to your arm?" She asked pulling both of us into a hug. "I got stiches." He told her, his voice muffled because it was in her arm. She finally let us go. "Tell me are you guys ok?" We nodded.

                                   "I don't know if ok is the word i'm looking for today was just sad." I said. "He deserved it!" Devin said. I hit him with my arm. "Don't say that!" "Why?" He asked. "It's not your place to decide. Are you telling me if you do something back you deserve to get shot?" "No of course not I'd never do anything that bad." "Oh I see so now were deciding you get shot based on what you did?" "Well ok...I see your point." His grandmother had taken Kenzie out of the room. 

                                  "Just be careful what you say. If Kenzie knows this man was bad, if she thinks he deserved to get shot maybe she will think mommy and daddy deserved it to." "Maybe thats not such a bad thing." "You want your parents shot? Be real, you do not." "No but maybe its not such a bad idea if Kenz think's they need to get shot. Meaning only bad people get shot she'll get it that they are bad." "Devin why would you say such a thing?" "Because i don't want my sister going back to them!!!" He punched the wall.

                                  I could tell everything that had happend was taking its tole on him. "Look if kenzie does go back with them its her choice, but i have to tell you, Your parents are going to be away a long time. And she may seem naive' but I think she'll think about it long and hard before she does and you know what else? You can go back to." "I don't think so. I don't even want to think about that." "But you know you would, you'd go back to keep her safe." "I guess you're right I never really thought of it like that." He ran his fingers through his hair.

                                   I stood up and sat in his lap. "Why don't you go take a hot shower, you need it. I'm going to go lay down." I told him stretching. He patted my leg. "Ok then." He said. I stood up and pulled him up. I kissed his cheek and went to my bedroom. I pulled the covers back and crawled into bed. To my surprise i fell asleep. I woke up when i heard a light tap on the door. "Hey Jess, dinner's on the table if your hungry." I mumbled something incoherent, then rolled over. I heard footsteps. A hand touched my back. I jumped up. "This is getting ridiculous I'm gonna beat the crap out of you old man!" I screamed. "Hey, hey Jess its me, Calm down." I collapsed back on my mattress in a cold sweat. "I'm sorry, i didn't mean to yell i thought you were Carl...thats why I'm thinking of leaving...to get away from him and all the crap that's happened this year. I'm such a chicken I know."

                                     I cried into his shirt. He rubbed my back. "No you're not, its ok, hey calm down, breath and talk to me." "I am." I said gasping for air still crying. "I'm running, I figured if I go to a different place all together I can escape what happened." "Jess I love you but I have to tell you, your never going to be able to escape it. I mean even in a different state, you could still have a bad dream and wake up. My question to you is, if you wake up whos going to be there. Your aunt? A cousin maybe?"

                                I thought about what he said. He was right, they couldn't comfort me the way he did. "Look I have those days to were I feel like my dad is in there with my sister, but I get up and check on her. Somehow she's sound asleep. Everything is ok." "I know that but you're staying here, I feel like a chicken for running away from my problems. That doesn't solve anything and you know what I'm doing what Brad did." An alarmed look crossed his face. "I'm not shooting anybody but I mean I'm taking care of the problem the wrong way. He shot Mr. Tully do you think he feels any better? No because Mr. Tully might be gone but now he's in jail I heard of what guys do to you in jail. Its a scary place." "Then don't go, its that simple."

                           "No Devin it's not that simple you cant just say it and make everything better. I have to really think about this." "Like the way you thought about to go?" "I don't know that I really did I....Right." I said. He had me. The only reasons I had to go were to escape all of this and to be around my family. These were complete strangers. They may be blood but they weren't my family Over the past few years. Devin, and his family had been more of a family to me then any of mine had. I turned to face him. "I think I'm going to stay, I mean I have to talk to Ms. Jean but we just talked about it and nothing was set in stone she just did the research." "But she must've talked to this family to make sure they would take you in yea?" "She did but from the picture I saw they have three kids already they will not be missing me I assure you."

                                 I heard a noise by the door. "Dinner guys were waiting." Said Devin's Grandpaw. "Oh sorry!" I said. We both jumped up. Stuff for tacos was placed on the table. I fixed mine the way I liked them, then we prayed. "What exactly happened today?" Devin's Grandpaw asked. "Brad one of the guys from our group showed up with a gun and shot a teacher." Devin said. "Oh my gosh that is horrible. That poor man." "No not poor man." I said. "Oh?" He asked. "Yea he was why Brad was there in the first place." I said taking a sip of my sweet tea. "Oh, well then. " And that was all he chose to say about that.

                                 After dinner me and Devin sat on his bed talking. He was just so glad that I was staying. Kenzie was sitting on the couch with her grandparents watching a pony movie. I could hear her asking if she could have one for her birthday. He turned and faced me grabbing my hands. "I have no way of telling you how happy I am that you are staying." He said grinning from ear to ear. "Me to, what you said really got to me." "Oh yeah?" "Yeah, if I have another nightmare and I know I will I don't want to be alone."

                                   "Would you be?" "Yeah I wouldn't dare go see one of my 'relatives'" I said using air quotes. "I mean it would just be weird to walk in there hey, Auntie...I'm scared can I sleep with you?" I said. He burst out laughing. "Well you can't really sleep me with either." He gestured to the bed blushing. "Right, but I can come in here and let you know that I'm scared." I nodded mater of factly "That's right and I can make it all better." I heard Devin's grandparents putting Kenzie in the bed. It was 8 o'clock. We had left the door open as we were instructed to do. His Grandpaw poked his head around the door. "We are about to head to sleep, behave." He waved then left. Devin and I stayed up late talking. Finally I told him I had to go to sleep. Even though I had napped I was still really tired from the day.