The Last Chance Texaco (20 page)

"You!" I said. "How'd you get out of Ragman Hall?" I couldn't believe that hadn't been the first question out of my mouth.

He smiled again. "They let me go. They had to when they learned that I wasn't the one who'd been setting the fires."

"But how did they--?"

"The neighbors."

"The neighbors?" I said.

"Don't you remember?"

I shook my head.

"When you were talking to Yolanda, trying to stop her from lighting the fire? There were people all around you."

"There were?" I hadn't noticed. I'd thought Yolanda and I were completely alone on that street. Then I remembered the voices right before I passed out.

"The neighbors heard you shouting and came out to see what was going on," Nate said. "So they saw and heard everything. Mrs. Morgan filled in the rest. And then there was the camcorder. That pretty much clinched it. You know, you're even kind of a hero. Article in the paper and everything. And I bet there'll be another one now that you're awake."

"Wait a minute. How long have I been here?"

"Three days. You weren't in a coma or anything, but they had you on painkillers."

"Three days?" That explained the tubes that were attached to my arm, and the little container of liquid hanging by my bed.

"You did it," Nate said. "You solved the mystery, you saved Yolanda's life, and you got me free. You should feel pretty proud."

"No," I said, but I guess I did feel a little proud.

"Thanks," he said, and he leaned forward to kiss me. His shoulder pressing against my chest hurt my burns, but I didn't say anything, because it was worth it to kiss him again.

Finally, we broke our kiss, and I said, "What about Kindle Home?"

Nate sat back in his chair. Suddenly, he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"What?" I said. "Tell me!" Nate wasn't touching my burns anymore, but I was a lot more uncomfortable now than when he'd had been leaning on my chest.

"Lucy, they're closing Kindle Home down. But not till the end of January."

"But you just said I'm a hero! There was an article about me in the paper!"

"I know. It completely sucks."

I sank back against my pillow. "So that's it. I'm still going to Rabbit Island anyway." Oh, well, I thought. I'd saved Yolanda's life, and I'd gotten Nate out of Ragman Hall. Those were the two most important things.

"No!" Nate said. "You're not going to Rabbit Island." He wasn't saying this like Leon had, like it was a vow or a promise. He was saying it like it was a fact.

"What?" I said, confused. "What are you talking about? Where am I going?"

"Leon wanted to be the one to tell you. He made me promise I'd wait." Nate grinned sheepishly. "But what the hell? I think you've waited long enough." And then he told me where I was going to live next.

I could hardly believe my ears.

• • •

I stared at the house in front of me. It was a lot smaller than Kindle Home. It was newer too, but definitely not new. The truth was, it was only slightly less of a dump than Kindle Home, and it didn't have any of the group home's interesting parts.

"This is it?" I said to Leon, who was standing right next to me.

"This is it," he said.

I didn't move, just kept staring at what would be my new home. A foster home. A foster home with Ben and Gina as my foster parents, and with Damon as the other foster kid.

Unlike the house in
Heidi
, it wasn't a mountain cabin, and it probably didn't have a sleeping loft or a big stone fireplace. It definitely wasn't perched on a rocky cliff overlooking jagged, snow-covered peaks and fields of goats and wildflowers. But it was still perfect.

"Let's go inside," Leon said.

I wasn't ready to go inside yet. I'd been out of the hospital for a few weeks. And I'd had all that time to adjust to the idea of this new living arrangement. But part of me was still afraid that if I took a step toward the house, it would fade, and I'd see that it had all been just another daydream.

"It was you," I said to Leon. "You talked Ben and Gina into this."

He laughed. "If you think that, then you don't know Gina very well. I can't imagine talking her into anything."

"But why? Why would they do this?"

"Because they're tired of group homes. Always too many kids and never enough money. But they love kids, and they can't have any of their own. So they decided to get other jobs and do the foster-parent thing for a while. Left Mrs. Morgan and me to work the trenches alone and to keep fighting Emil."

"But how'd they get me out of The System? I mean, I'm a high-risk kid!"

He laughed again. "Are you kidding? It's the high-risk kids that The System is trying hardest to get rid of. Someone
volunteers
to foster you and they can't get the papers signed fast enough. Your little heroics with Yolanda didn't hurt either."

"I still think you had something to do with this," I said.

Leon coughed. "Well, I may have put in a good word here and there."

"Thanks," I said, and I couldn't believe I was starting to cry. Had I turned into a wimp or what? But I couldn't help it. Leon had promised me that I wouldn't end up at Eat-Their-Young Island, and I hadn't. But I'd never expected things to end up this good.

"Come on," he said, nodding toward the house.

"Let's go inside and wait for Ben and Gina."

Together, we walked up to the front door, and I grabbed the knob and tried to push it open.

It didn't budge.

"I don't believe it!" I said. "This door sticks too."

"No," Leon said. "It's locked. But Ben and Gina asked me to give you this." He dug into his pocket and held up a single gold key.

I was trembling when I took the key from his hand and slipped it into the lock. I heard it click open. Then I turned the knob, pushed the door again, and stepped inside.

Also by Brent Hartinger
:

The Russel Middlebrook Series

*
Geography Club
(Book 1)

*
The Order of the Poison Oak
(Book 2)

*
Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies
(Book 3)

*
The Elephant of Surprise
(Book 4, coming in 2012)

Others Books

*
The Last Chance Texaco

*
Grand & Humble

*
Project Sweet Life

*
Shadow Walkers

*
Three Truths and a Lie
(Coming in 2013)

About the Author

Brent Hartinger is the author of many award-winning plays, screenplays, and novels, most of which are written for teenagers. Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at www.brenthartinger.com.