The halls were crowded at the end of the school day. Still, Jennet could always find Tam, no matter how many other students were around. She hurried up to where he stood, one hand on his locker. His lips were set in a worried line, and following his gaze, she knew why. Roy Lassiter was walking down the hall, his arm draped around Marny.

“Oh, no,” she said. “You don’t think he’s going to take Marny home with him?”

“That’s exactly what I think.” He sounded grim.

“We can’t let that happen! We’ve got to keep her out of his clutches.”

She hurried after them, Tam right behind her. They caught up to the couple outside school. Roy was leading Marny over to the parking lot, where his red grav-car waited.

“Hey, Marny, hold up!” Jennet called, waving.

Marny scowled, but at least she stopped. “What do you want?”

Tam stepped forward. “I thought we could go to Zeg’s today. You know, do some gaming. All together.”

“I don’t think so, Exie,” Roy said. “You lost your chance at that, a while back. No, Marns is coming over to my place to check out my gaming systems. They’re pretty sparked. Just like me.” He winked.

Jennet drew in a quick breath. They had to do something—Marny was in peril, whether she knew it or not. Thinking fast, only one solution came to her. Too bad Tam was going to hate it.

“Sweet!” Jennet said, trying to sound excited. “I’d love to come over and game, too. Let me drop my stuff off at home, and I’ll meet up with you two at Roy’s.”

Tam shot her a glance—but what else could she do? She had to invite herself along, and cross her fingers Roy would agree.

“What about your low-level boyfriend?” Roy asked. “Leaving him in the dirt, where he belongs?”

“Tam’s not dirt,” Marny said, some of the star-struck glow fading from her eyes.

“Don’t be so literal, babe.” Roy squeezed her shoulders.

“Anyway,” Marny said, narrowing her eyes at Jennet, “You’re not invited. What is it with you, fancy-girl? You have to try and steal every guy in my life?”

Jennet forced out a laugh. “You can have Roy—believe me. But he’s asked me to come play on his systems too, right?”

She glanced at Roy. He looked amused and indulgent, as if he were used to girls fighting for his attention.

“Chill, Marns,” he said. “Jennet can come along. If she wants an excuse to ditch Exie-boy, why would I stop her?”

Tam’s face was set, his hands jammed in his pockets. “Well,” he said in a voice like stone, “you three enjoy your afternoon.”

“Oh, we will.” Roy swung Marny back toward his grav-car, then glanced over his shoulder. “Come on by anytime, Jen.”

Marny frowned, but it was clear she wasn’t going to argue with golden-boy Roy.

“Great,” Jennet called. “I’ll see you guys over there. Can hardly wait.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tam turned to her. His green eyes sparked.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked.

“Look—it’s not like you can follow them around. One sight of you, and Roy would call View Security to throw you out. I have to go—we can’t let Marny be alone with him.”

“No way.” Tam shook his hair out of his eyes. “It’s too risky.”

“I know you don’t like it, but at least I understand what I’m dealing with. Marny has no idea.”

He regarded her a moment longer, the anger in his expression slowly fading. She was right, and he knew it.

“I hate you putting yourself in danger,” he said.

“I know, Tam. I’ll be on my guard.”

“You better.”

He stepped forward unexpectedly, and wrapped his arms around her. Surprise zinged through her. She leaned into him and returned his embrace, closing her eyes to better memorize the warmth of his body against hers. His breath brushed her temple, and she felt their pulses settle and match, their heartbeats echoing together. Time seemed to stop for a long, golden moment.

Then Tam released her, and she reluctantly stepped back.

“Alright,” he said, clearing his throat. “Go watch out for Marny—and yourself.”

“I will.”

“And be careful. We don’t know what Lassiter is capable of—but he’s severely dangerous.”

                                                                           ***

Tam dodged through the graffiti-etched alleys of the Exe, senses alert. He hated having to let Jennet go back into the lion’s den, alone. Given a choice, he’d like to stab that particular lion through the heart, and drag both Jennet and Marny to safety. Too bad it didn’t work that way in real life.

 Jennet. Her name was a bright flame inside him. A flame he feared would suddenly blow out, leaving him in darkness. Though he knew she’d had to play along, he was bruised by the idea she was dropping him for Lassiter. She wasn’t—he knew that in his head. But Lassiter’s ugly words still ricocheted through him, sharp-edged.

He exhaled, trying not to taste the smell of rot that clung to everything in the Exe.

At least he had something to do, to dispel the anxious energy pulsing through him. Find a four-leaf clover. He’d take the Bug, too, for added distraction. Plus, the Bug could help him look—after all, the kid was closer to the ground.

Tam made it home without any trouble. When he got the locks undone and pushed the door open, he was surprised to see his mom sitting on the couch. Her face was wet with tears, and she held a faded paper photograph he’d seen hundreds of times—a picture of herself as a girl, wearing a red dress and smiling. A past that nobody could return to.

Damn. Weepiness was a sign she was heading for one of her downturns.

“Hi, Mom,” he said, closing the door and doing up the locks behind him.

“Tam—you’re home early, honey.” She tried giving him a smile, though it wobbled weakly at the corners.

“Not really. Can I make you a cup of coffee or something?”

He set his backpack down beside the roll of his sleeping bag. What he really wanted to know was if she’d taken her meds, though the answer was obvious. Anyway, she’d lie like she always did, and tell him everything was just fine.

Not for the first time, he considered doing something sneaky like grinding up her pills and putting them in her food. Except that if she was taking her mood stabilizers, a double-dose might end up making her severely tweaked.

“Oh, coffee would be nice,” she said. She surreptitiously dabbed eyes with her sleeve, then tucked the photo away.

Tam went into their tiny kitchen, put the water on to boil, then pulled down the jar of powdered coffee. His hands were steady, calm, as if they weren’t attached to the same body that was tensing with anxiety. Should he message Mom’s new state-mandated counselor? Or could the family just ride this one through, as they had so many times in the past?

He glanced over to where she sat on the couch, looking pale and a touch wild-eyed. Not too over the edge though, not yet. Ok, he’d send a message. Maybe the counselor would be able to do something.

Right, a voice inside him whispered. Like they’ve ever helped before.

“So,” he said, keeping his hands busy with mugs and spoons, “I thought I’d get Peter from school today and take him down to the park.”

“Isn’t it a little… cold for that?” She glanced out their wire-webbed window. “It’s a sweet idea, honey, but what if it snows?”

“Mom, it hasn’t snowed in Crestview for years.”

No, it just threatened to. Every winter he could remember was hard and bare, with nothing soft and white to redeem it.

“It used to snow.” Her voice went wistful. “We’d go sledding down the big hill outside of town.”

That hill was now The View, and certainly not outside town any more. But Mom didn’t need to hear either of those things—not when she was fragile like this.

The battered kettle began its creaking whistle. Tam grabbed it off the stove and fixed two cups of coffee, putting lots of sugar and creamer into her cup. He took them over to the couch and handed her the less-chipped mug, careful not to spill.

“Thanks.” She pulled in a deep breath. “Some days it’s just… I want more for you and Peter than this.”

She waved a hand, encompassing the living room with its ramshackle bookcases and piles of clothes. The only bedroom he and the Bug had ever had. He sat next to her and slid an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey, Mom, it’s ok. We’re doing better than some.”

Like the squatters down the block, who half the time were so smoke-drifted they didn’t know they were half-starved and freezing. Still, that reminded him. He needed to take part of the cash VirtuMax had paid them off with—the blood money—and stick it downstairs in his own secret stash.

Especially if Mom was going unstable again. He took a long swallow of coffee, trying to dissolve the cold knot of fear in his belly.

“Shouldn’t you go, if you’re meeting Peter?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He gave her shoulders a quick squeeze.

Rising, he gulped the rest of his coffee, though it was too hot. He set the mug by the sink, then pulled on his coat. More threads hung down inside, where the lining was coming off, but for now the coat was hanging together. Sort of like his life.

He paused with the door open. “We’ll be home around dark.”

“Take care of your brother. I love you, honey.”

“Me too,” he said.

The door thudded closed behind him, the keys cold in his hand. The old, familiar worry clenched through him. When he came home, would Mom still be there?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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