“Why?”

“He’s funny, for one. He’s smart. And handsome—”

“Gross,” she said.

“He is. Sorry, it’s just true.”

She wrinkled her nose.

“I also think he’s a really good person,” I continued. “I like that he’s taking care of you guys.”

She stared at me through the mirror. Then I nodded at the bag from Sally Beauty on the sink.

“I got you something you might like,” I said. “Grab that.”

She leaned over and picked it up. I watched her face change instantly the second she saw what it was. Her head shot up. “Hair dye?!” She beamed.

“Yup. I made Justin stop at the beauty supply store on the way over. I already asked your brother, he said it’s okay. When we’re done with this, you can pick a color.”

I’d bought the rainbow. Red, orange, green, blue, and purple.

“The time I got lice, one of the older girls staying in the foster home got me hair dye—stole me hair dye. I’m pretty sure she didn’t buy it,” I said. “Anyway, I just remembered it turning the whole day around for me. I was so upset and the instant I found out I got to have pink hair at school the next morning, it changed everything. Reframed the memory into something good.”

Sarah was practically bouncing. “I can’t believe he said yes. Mom never lets me do anything. She won’t even let me get my ears pierced.”

“Well, it’s a new regime,” I said, parting her hair again. “We could do two colors if you want. It’s semi-permanent, so it’ll only last a few weeks.”

“I want the purple and blue! Josie’s gonna be so jealous. Her mom let her get a henna tattoo and she was bragging about it for forever.”

I smiled.

She lined the bottles up on the sink and looked happily at them.

In that moment, maybe for the first time ever for me, she looked like a little girl. She was a little girl. I recognized the mask Sarah wore for what it was.

It was easier to pretend to be angry and tough than to admit to being devastated and heartbroken. And by the practiced way she wielded attitude, she’d been devastated and heartbroken for a long time.

Justin’s family had been through so much trauma. They had so many cracks.

I wondered if Justin was a docking station because of it or in spite of it. Had he learned to be steady and reliable and safe out of the needs of the people he loved, or did he fight to stay their anchor through all the tragedy? Either way, his family was lucky to have him.

Leigh popped her head in the door. “Hey, Emma,” she whispered. She looked over her shoulder and came back to me. “Hey, you think you can convince him to rename the dog? You got that kinda pull yet?”

I grinned. “I don’t know.”

“Well, work on it, will ya? We’ve just about given up. He’s stubborn as a mule, you’re our last hope.”

She vanished again. I waited a second to be sure she was gone and then I leaned in over Sarah’s shoulder.

“I don’t really think he should rename the dog,” I whispered.

“Me either,” Sarah said, conspiratorially.

Both of us smiled into the mirror.

CHAPTER 29 JUSTIN

You have to drag your leg,” Emma said.

“Why?”

“Because you’re dead? And you have to amble.”

I grinned. “I’m not sure I know what ambling is. Can you show me? Give me your best amble?”

Emma crossed her arms, trying not to smile. “You know how zombies walk, Justin. Walk like that.”

“Should I moan? With my arms out? Sort of drool a little bit?”

“Feel free to use any artistic interpretation of a zombie that you want. All I care about is that you walk zombie speed. This has to be an accurate experiment.”

Emma bet me that she could survive a zombie apocalypse. She said zombies were slow and easy to outrun. I said they’re slow but steady and that’s how they get you. She said we should try it, so here we were at almost midnight in front of Neil’s mansion getting ready to prove my point.

The night wasn’t what I’d planned, but it ended up great anyway.

I don’t know what the heck Emma had said to Sarah, but my sister was in a good mood for the first time in—I couldn’t even remember how long. She emerged from the bathroom with Emma with blue-and-purple hair and a new attitude. Not the outcome I’d expected after the way the night had started but I’d take it.

After we finished with the lice, I set up the blanket in the backyard. With the landscaping Mom did, it was pretty nice back there with its hanging lights, citronella candles, and magnolia trees. I ordered a pizza, connected my phone to a Bluetooth speaker, and poured the wine I brought, and Emma and I hung out and talked. Mom had a giant Jenga and we set that up and played a few rounds.

One of the onlookers from the fake bridge proposal had offered to send me the picture he got. It was a shot of me on one knee and Emma looking surprised, the Toilet King on her shirt in clear view. It was hilarious. We cracked up about it all night and made it our screensavers.

“Okay. So where do we start?” I asked.

Emma looked around. “How about you start from across the street. I’ll be getting out of the car. You have until the dock to catch me.”

“All right. I’d just like to point out though that if I do catch you, there’s no way you’d outrun a real one in the great uprising.”

“Noted. But you won’t catch me.” She smirked and got into the passenger seat and shut the door.

I smiled and jogged across the street and waited.

When she jumped out of my Acura, I started after her.

She left the door to the car open. Smart. Saved time not closing it and I had to go around it, which bought her a few seconds. She was making good progress and I was beginning to think she might actually get away, until she hit the grass. Her sandal flew off. She looked over her shoulder at me. “Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit!”

I ambled closer and made a moaning sound, trying not to laugh, and she got frantic. She left it—and then her heel slipped out of the other one. She kicked that off too and started to run again and bolted around the side of the garage.

I thought for sure I’d lost her this time, but when I rounded the corner, I practically crashed right into her. She’d dropped her phone and went back for it. Rookie move.