Chapter 4

Sophia

Sophia Blake sat on the edge of the bed rubbing Cate’s back while she slept. It had been a rough morning watching her roommate - and best friend - crack like that. The worst part was that her “parents” didn’t understand, and Sophia had to walk on eggshells to determine which facts to withhold.

“Jack meant a lot to Ca— Emma,” she told Mr. Kincade when they first got home. “I know they only interacted once, but she told me she blamed herself for his disappearance. And his death.”

“I just don’t understand,” he said, shaking his head. “Were they… dating?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Sophia assured them.

“You’re her roommate,” Mrs. Kincade probed. “What else can you tell us?”

“I think she just needs time.”

“She needs a shrink,” Mr. Kincade was quick to fire back.

“PAA has an in-house therapist. I will insist that she sees her.”

“Do you think it’s such a good idea to send her back to that school?” Mrs. Kincade asked. “She’s been different since she’s gone there. Maybe it’s better if she stays close to us.”

“I know PAA can handle it.”

Mrs. Kincade sighed. “I shouldn’t have let you girls go to that funeral.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Her grief was a ticking timebomb and would’ve gone off eventually.”

The Kincades didn’t like that answer, but it allowed Sophia to retreat back to Cate’s side with Alyssa. Alyssa hadn’t said much in the hours since they returned to the Kincade’s home.

Sophia turned to her. It was weird that she was the one holding it together in the face of all of this chaos. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing OK, I guess. I’m still trying to make sense of all of this. Only a few days ago my biggest concern was making the JV Lacrosse team. Now, my friend is missing. The girl who I thought was my friend is really a 40 year old dude - who is also dead and whose funeral I just went to. And you— you don’t look transgender.”

“A magic cupcake,” Sophia replied with a smile.

“Magic cupcakes! Of course.” Alyssa sighed. “And now apparently cupcakes can make you change gender too.” 

“It’s a lot to take in.”

“I’m not sure what to do with myself. I’m still upset that nobody has even looked for Emma.”

“Cate said Max tried.”

“Do you trust her?”

“Who, Cate?”

“Yeah.”

“With my life. In fact, she’s already saved mine. Yeah, I know she’s rough around the edges. You should’ve seen her a year ago. She was such an asshole. And she’s still got that edge to her. But what she lacks in tact, she makes up for in loyalty. She’s fiercely loyal. If she considers you a friend, she will move heaven and earth for you.”

At that moment, Carmen appeared at the doorway. “Girls, a policeman is at the door for you.”

Sophia and Alyssa exchanged glances as they got off the bed and went to see who was at the front door.

Max was standing there, holding foil-covered paper plates. When he saw Sophia he asked, “How is she?”

“Sleeping,” Sophia replied.

He motioned his hand inside. “May I?”

“Well, it’s not technically my house, but sure.” 

He walked into the foyer and glanced around. “Is it OK to talk here?”

“I think so,” Sophia replied. “Emma’s parents are out by the pool.”

“It must be hard for her,” Max speculated. “Hell, I can’t imagine what I’d do if I was at my own funeral.”

“She was holding out hope that she’d return to that life one day.”

“Of course,” Max agreed. “I brought lunch for you girls from the reception,” he said, holding out the plates. “I brought deli meats because I know how much Jack…” He sighed.

“That’s thoughtful,” Sophia said, taking the plates from him. “I’m sure she’ll like it.”

“Well, I just wanted to check in and deliver this food. I should go—”

“Officer,” Alyssa said, blocking his departure. 

Max paused, and looked at her.

“Hi, I was wondering. Is there any word on Emma?”

The police chief’s face grew even more somber. “No. We’ve looked everywhere.”

“It’s just that, I think I saw her— him. A day after the swap.”

“We haven’t figured out whose body she’s in, so we can’t even track her.”

“That’s bullshit!” Alyssa suddenly yelled, enough to startle both Sophia and Max.

“Miss,” he said, trying to calm her down.

“Don’t. Don’t treat us like idiots. You mean to tell me that the police, with all their surveillance equipment and all their computers - along with Cate’s description - don’t know whose body Emma is in?”

Max was silent and looked down at his feet.

“Is everything OK out there?” Mrs. Kincade called from— somewhere.

“We’re fine, Mrs. Kincade,” Sophia replied.

“You do know,” Alyssa hissed.

Max sighed and motioned for them to keep their voices down. He whispered, “We do. We’ve identified whose body she is in, but she’s been elusive. She may have even changed her name and be living off a fake identity. But you can’t tell Cate.”

“Why the hell not?” 

“You know Cate.” He looked at Sophia. “She’ll stop whatever she’s doing and go off on her own looking for Emma. She’ll just get in the way. We need her to keep doing what she’s doing.”

“I can’t believe this,” Sophia replied, her own anger rising. “Cate has been utterly consumed with guilt, as if she intentionally stole Emma’s life. This isn’t fair!”

“Listen, I love Jack like a brother. But I can’t have a 15-year-old girl tagging along with us. Besides, people will ask questions— especially the Kincades. Cate needs to stay in school. Let us find Emma.”

Alyssa shook her head in disgust. “Like you’ve done such a good job so far.”

“I should go,” Max said uneasily.

“You should,” Sophia agreed.

Max walked out the door and Sophia closed it behind him.

Alyssa peered out the window and waited for Max’s car to leave. “I should go too.”

“I’ll let you know if anything changes,” Sophia promised.

Alyssa nodded and left, while Sophia returned to Cate’s bedroom.

She picked up her phone and dialed Sam. If Sophia was Cate’s best friend, Sam was certainly Cate’s second bestie. It certainly helped that Sam could shapeshift into a cute cuddly cat.

“Hey,” Sam answered, her voice sounding thin and distant. “How is she doing?”

“Not good,” Sophia replied. “She took the funeral pretty hard.”

“I’m sorry you had to handle that alone,” Sam said, a heavy sigh audible over the line. “I wish I could be there to help, but things here are… complicated.”

“Are you OK? How complicated are we talking?”

“Nothing compared to Cate’s situation.”

“Sam, you can talk to me. Cate’s sleeping. She can wait.”

“Lulu wants to return to public school.”

“What? Why?”

“Because she’s a cis girl now. Her family accepts her. And I think she’s made friends, too.”

“What about her friends at PAA? What about you?”

“I think she really wants to try to be stealth and live a normal life. I mean… I can’t blame her for wanting that. We all do.”

“Did she… break up with you?”

“No. We’re going to try a long-distance thing. I’m a senior now and have one year left at PAA. But how do I compete with a whole world of Normies? I’ll be stuck at PAA for the year while she’s out there living the life we all dream of. I’m terrified she’s going to realize she doesn’t need a ‘freak’ like me anymore once she has a taste of the real world.”

“I’m sorry, Sam. But, first of all, you are not a ‘freak’. You’re a friend to me and to Cate. You’re Lulu’s girlfriend. It’s the Normies who can’t compete. That’s why we’re segregated into our own school. Because it's them who can’t handle us.”

“I-I suppose you’re right.”

“I’m sorry Sam. That sucks. I’m giving you a hug right now in my mind.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry, I’ve been talking all about me. What about Cate?”

“I’m worried about her too. Seeing her today. She never cries, but today she just… shattered. I’ve never seen her so fragile. It's like the detective persona she uses as a shield finally crumbled under the weight she’s been putting on it.”

“Yeah, she’s been so focused on fixing things, but now that Jack is gone and the mission is over… What does she have left?”

Sophia bit her lip and immediately thought about what Max just revealed about Emma. The secret was suddenly weighing her down. She should tell Sam, but figured the more people who knew, the harder it would be to keep the secret from Cate. “I don't know, Sam, but I’m afraid she’s going to spiral. I’ve seen it before with some other girls at PAA who were never able to overcome their transformation. I thought we were past that after last fall. But this is different. This is new.”

Sophia felt like a hypocrite, withholding the one piece of information - that the police had information about Emma - which might actually give Cate a reason to keep going. But Max’s warning echoed in her head. If Cate knew, she’d immediately disappear into the night to hunt Emma down, and after the breakdown she’d had today, Sophia wasn’t sure Cate should be alone.

“Just stay with her. She needs someone to be her rock. Don’t leave her alone with those thoughts.”

“I was thinking the same thing. But I have never been anyone’s rock.”

“Well, now’s your chance.”

“I should go. See you in three weeks?”

“See you in three weeks.”

* * *

Cate

I woke to Sophia spooning me in bed. It’s certainly not the first time I’ve found her like that. Usually it follows some sort of traumatic experience for one or both of us.

I carefully moved her arm from around my waist and sat up.

She instantly woke up and was at my side. “Are you OK?”

Jesus, doesn’t she have an off button? “I’m fine.”

“You are not fine.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Can I get you anything? Water? Tylenol?” She paused. “A pastrami sandwich?”

“I just want to be left alone.”

“Now I know you’re not fine.”

“I’m fine Sophia. I just need space.”

“Do you want to talk—”

“No!”

I got up from bed and trudged into the kitchen. I wondered where everyone was. My stomach rumbled. I should make something to eat. Then my shin abruptly found the leg of a chair. “Ow!” I yelled out. “Damn, why is it so dark in here?”

“Because it’s two in the morning, silly.”

“Ahh!” I cried out, almost falling over the same chair I just ran into. “Don’t do that!”

Almost instantly my shadow— er, Sophia— was at my side. “Max brought you some food from yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“You slept all day.”

I opened the fridge and found a paper plate covered with foil. This must be it. I pulled it out and brought it to the kitchen table. It had some weight to it. Feels like Max hooked me up.

Sophia sat across from me. Hands folded, just looking at me. At least she had stopped questioning me.

I pulled back the foil and found a pair of sandwiches, a side each of potato salad, macaroni salad, and baked ziti. I picked up the sandwich and took a large bite.

Sophia continued to look at me. 

I swallowed the food and finally spoke up. “It would be great if you didn’t tell anyone back home about that.”

“Cate—”

“It was embarrassing. That wasn't me. I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s OK to show vulnerability.”

I shook my head and swallowed. “Not for me.”

Sophia shook her head. “Max asked how you were.”

“Did you say fine?”

“I didn’t.”

“Great.” Another bite. After I swallowed it, I asked “What do you want me to say? I had a relapse? Another panic attack?”

Surprisingly, she didn’t respond. Good. She’s learning.

I took another bite of the sandwich. It’s been months since I had a panic attack. This first one I had was stupid. I was painting my nails and realized I was painting over the last vestiges of Emma. I know. Stupid. The last time was because I was drugged, kidnapped, and almost raped. Thankfully my friends intervened. 

Sophia couldn’t possibly know what I’ve been going through. Her dead-life sucked. Her original parents sucked. She was given a second chance at life. I, on the other hand, was forced into this. Now that my body is gone, my very existence is taking away an innocent girl’s life. I didn’t ask for a second adolescence. Especially not at the expense of Emma’s.

Maybe I should say all of that to the girl sitting across from me. She did bus cross-country to see me. To attend my funeral. 

“Thank you,” I said after another bite. “For being here. For me.”

“You’re welcome.”

I shoved the last of sandwich number one into my mouth. When I was done chewing and swallowing it I looked at her. “You’re right. I’m not fine.”

She gave me a look that suggested she wanted me to continue.

“My life is over. And now I’m living a borrowed life. I’ve stolen Emma’s body. This whole ‘Cate’ thing was just a character. Something to do while I was waiting to get back to Jack. But now what? There’s no more Jack. Cate’s not a real person. Who am I supposed to be? What happens when I find Emma? If I ever find her. What happens then?”

She was silent for a minute. A rarity for Miss Sophia Blake. “We don’t have to have the answers,” she whispered. “And it doesn’t matter to me what your name is. Jack or Cate. You’re my friend and I love you.” She reached out and grabbed my hand. You don’t have to solve this alone. Hell, you don’t have to solve this today, or tomorrow, or within the next year. And we don’t have to mention what happened yesterday ever again. But know that you have friends who love you. The you inside Emma’s body. Whoever you decide that is. And I’m not going to push. I’m going to give you space. Hell, I know I needed space, once upon a time.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled in the dim night of the dark kitchen.

“Did anyone cry at the funeral?”

“You mean besides you?” she giggled. “You’re such a narcissist.”

“Hey, it’s not every day you go to your own funeral.”

“Thank God for that. I don’t think any of us can handle that again.”

I smirked. “Thankfully you only die once.”

* * *

I laid in my bed the rest of the morning, blankets pulled over my head. I could hear the Kincades and Sophia outside the bedroom door, talking and moving around. I tossed and turned. I didn’t want to stay in bed anymore, but I wanted to be alone. Getting out of this bed meant that I’d have to talk with people.

It’s crazy how only a year ago, I lived alone. I haven’t really been alone since.

An idea struck me, and I opened up my phone and summoned an Uber. Then I got dressed in a T-shirt and shorts and slowly opened my door an inch. I didn’t see anyone. 

After tiptoeing across the hall and down the steps, I crept through the living room and slipped out the front door. 

I caught the Uber a few blocks away, and had it take me to my old house.

* * *

I hadn’t seen the old place since I was whisked away to PAA. Everything was overgrown. The grass was so long it was leaning over. The two dead azaleas were still dead and were in the process of getting crowded out by weeds. My hide-a-key was still there.

I opened the door and a rush of warm musty air escaped.

When I decided to stay at PAA indefinitely, Max volunteered to winterize the house, so it currently has no power, no water, no air, and the reason I really came, no people to bother me.

Even though I knew better, I walked into the kitchen to look for a beer. I didn’t have much in it before I left. I opened the door and the fridge had been emptied before the power was turned off.

Closing the door, I walked to my bedroom. It was essentially the same as I had left it eleven months ago.

Opening the closet and pulling out one of my old T-shirts, I exchanged it for the shirt I was currently wearing. 

It was several sizes too big on me. But it smelled like me. It reminded me of who I used to be.

I walked to the master bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet. On the shelf were my deodorant and shaving lotion. I pulled off the deodorant cap just to get a whiff. The sweet musky smell of nostalgia.

Surprisingly, I heard the door open. I instinctively reached to my waist where I would’ve found my Glock. A habit I haven’t been able to break. But of course, I have no defense at the moment, and a stranger had just entered my house.

I heard light footfalls in the living room, and crept back into the hallway to get a glimpse of the intruder.

I froze in my tracks the instant I saw who it was.

Cheryl.

She saw me out of her periphery and jumped in surprise. “Oh my God!” She clutched her chest then looked at me intently. “What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same,” I replied.

“Well, I own the place.”

“No, you don’t,” I snapped back. The house was in my name. Not hers.

Like she sensed what I was thinking, she clarified, “I’m inheriting it. Jack never updated his will.”

Well, fuck. I knew I forgot to do something after the divorce.

“Why are you wearing his shirt? What are you doing here?”

“I—” This does look bad, doesn’t it? “I don’t know. I was just leaving.”

I walked to the front door. I left the T-shirt I wore here back in the bedroom. Doesn’t matter, I’ll leave it.

“You’re Cate, right?” asked Cheryl, as I reached the door.

I stopped, but didn’t look at her. “Yeah.” I couldn’t recall if I had told her my name at the funeral or not.

“You caused quite a scene at the funeral.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Do you want to grab lunch and talk about it?”

I looked back at her, unsure why she would ask. “Umm… sure.”

* * * 

Before we left the house, I put my original shirt back on so I wasn’t swimming in Jack’s oversized shirt in public.

It was awkward riding in the car with my ex. Obviously, I never thought I’d see her again. And when we used to ride together I always drove. I was the guy after all. 

We rode in uncomfortable silence until we reached our destination - my old favorite sandwich shop. Not gonna lie, I was stoked to get my usual.

We sat down in a booth across from each other. From an outsider’s perspective, we probably looked like a mother and a daughter, taking a break from a shopping trip.

I wasn’t sure what to say to her. Why did she invite me to lunch? And why here, of all places? She never mentioned a strong likeness for the place.

“It was a beautiful funeral,” she finally said. “You missed most of it.”

I shrugged.

“I think Jack would’ve liked it.”

“I dunno.”

The waitress came and Cheryl ordered a turkey club. Since we were at my regular place I ordered my usual. “I’ll have the pastrami on rye, provolone, slaw, and Russian. Extra meat. Oh, and pickles,” I said, my years of practice coming back. “With a side of well-done fries.”

Cheryl looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face. Confusion? Surprise? 

The waitress came back with a pair of waters.

I took a sip.

Then it was back to the interrogation. “So, what were you doing at my ex’s house?” Cheryl asked. “Were you two… intimate?”

The water came back out of my nose as I choked on her question.

“No!” I abruptly shut down that line of thinking. “Absolutely not!” I grabbed a napkin to wipe my face.

“You don’t look like Jack,” she commented, searching my face for clues. “Are you a daughter Jack never told me about?”

“No,” I managed to get out through my coughing. I took another sip to clear my throat. “I— he would’ve told you if that was the case.” Realizing the hole I just dug myself into I clarified, “I mean, I think he would have told you something like that.” I used a little practiced teen annoyance to throw her off track.

“Then how did you know him? I was worried when a teen girl showed up. I thought maybe—”

“I already told you,” I complained. “He saved my life. That’s it. And I never saw him again until his funeral.”

Cheryl paused, unsure how to proceed. Her face was a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

“What’s next? I asked with Jack’s typical sarcasm. “Space aliens?”

That broke her reverie. Her voice dropped to a whisper, serious as a confessional prayer. “Max told me a different story.”

I gulped, and my growling stomach dropped. “He did?” I asked cautiously.

“After you made that scene. I demanded to know who you were.”

“W-What did he tell you?”

“Some lame-ass tall tale.”

I was curious what Max could’ve possibly told her. Since Max was one of my few friends, we hung out frequently outside of work. Cheryl was often part of our social gatherings. But they hadn’t had any contact since before the divorce - or had they? Would he have trusted her now with the details? He wouldn’t have told her the truth, right? What if he did? Sophia told me it was OK to tell certain people. “Did he… um… tell you who I really am?”

Our eyes met, and she replied, “Yes.”

Well, then.

“Jack?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, a sense of relief washing over me. “It’s me. Just not In the flesh, so it seems,” I chuckled.

She responded to my attempt at levity with a look of derision.

“OK,” I admitted, “not the best choice of words.”

“I didn’t believe it until just now. You ordered Jack’s favorite. I mean… I still don’t believe it.”

“I wouldn’t believe it either if it wasn't happening to me.”

“Wait - how did you propose to me?” she asked.

Oh. I guess we’re going to play this game. “I took you to the shore where I made us a picnic.”

Her expression slowly turned from curious to one of shock.

“While we were gazing at the sunset, I knelt down.” I took Cheryl’s hand across the table. “I pretended to get sand in my eye, but instead I fished the ring out of my pocket. I asked you to marry me.”

Cheryl’s mouth hung open. She then noticed we were holding hands. She quickly withdrew hers and asked, “And what did you say after the divorce?”

“Something I likely regretted,” I quipped.

She shook her head. “I can’t believe it. So my asshole masculine ex really was reincarnated as a teenage girl. Wow, that’s some grade-A karma.”

“I wasn’t reincarnated, I was body swapped.”

"Swapped?" Cheryl repeated. "So whose body is that?"

"Her name is Emma," I began. I wanted to keep this brief since she never really cared to hear how my typical day went when we were still together. "She was a missing person case I was investigating. When I found her we were attacked by some guy who had the ability to swap bodies just by touching another person.  First, he touched her and got into her body. Then he touched me with her body and they both ran off, leaving me stuck inside Emma."

“That’s crazy. Max told me you were body swapped into this girl while on a case. So, what are you doing now?”

“I’m at a special school. For others like me.”

“Others? Like you?”

“I-I’m learning to be a woman.” Cue the sarcasm.

“Wow, I’d pay good money to watch that.”

I’m sure she would. “Sadly, I don’t think PAA allows spectators."

“So you’ve been living as a girl for a year?”

“Yeah, almost eleven months.”

“Wow. So all of those times you were a misogynistic pig…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m eating my words now.” I rolled my eyes in aggravation. She was enjoying this a little too much.

Cheryl tried to contain her laughter by holding her hand over her mouth, but that only resulted in comical squeaks and bursts of air. “Sorry - Jack - I’m just picturing you-”

“Can we change the subject?” I interrupted what had to be the highlight of her week. “How about you? What’s new with you?”

She settled down. “I’m still working at the library.”

“Seeing anyone?”

“Not at the moment. Though, I’ve been on dates.”

“I bet none of them had that Jack Baker charisma,” I chuckled.

“No, they sure didn’t,” came her reply, thick with sarcasm.

“C’mon, I wasn’t that bad!”

“You had your moments,” she smiled. “You did somehow convince me to marry you.”

I smiled again at the memory.

“How about you? Are there any boys at school you like?” she giggled.

“Fuck no! This girl is a lesbian,” I bragged, pointing my thumb at myself for emphasis.

“So, you consider yourself a girl now? You go by a girl’s name.”

“Oh. Not really. I’m still Jack inside. A guy. Cate is really just a cover.”

“Your aunt is named Cate. I met her at the funeral. She seemed quite fond of you, especially for joining the police force.”

“Bingo,” I replied.

“Do you prefer me to call you Jack or Cate?”

“Jack is dead,” I said quickly, letting out a long sigh. I wish I hadn’t because that killed the longest conversation we’d had in ages without arguing.

The food eventually arrived, and the sandwich put me in a better mood.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Cheryl between bites. “It’s been a rough few days for me. And year.”

“I can understand.”

“You can call me Jack or Cate. But most people call me Cate, even if they know my true identity.”

“OK. I’ll call you Cate then. Calling you Jack would be too weird.”

We continued a good-natured conversation, reminiscing about the good times while carefully avoiding discussing the many ways our relationship had gone wrong. After finishing lunch, I thanked her and she drove me back to the Kincade’s.

“It must be tough, Cate, not only being a girl, but an underage one at that,” Cheryl mused. “You can’t even drive or drink anymore.”

“But, I’ll be able to do those things again,” I reminded her. “I plan on giving this body back to its owner. I'll just have to accept whatever I get in return.  The important part is Emma gets her own body back.” My house was coming up. “It’s going to be the next house on the left.”

Cheryl slowed the car down and put on her turn signal. “Hey, Cate.”

“Cheryl?”

“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“And don't worry, Max already made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone your true identity — even if I didn’t believe him.”

I nodded my head. I was gonna have to talk to Max about who he was telling.

Sophia and the Kincades were sitting on the porch when we arrived. The ‘rents did not look happy. Sophia looked stressed out, like she had been trying to cover for me for the past two hours.

“They look pissed,” I observed.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble,” Cheryl said apologetically.

“Trouble is my middle name.”

“You know, I never met your real parents.” She turned off the car and opened the door.

“What are you doing? You know, you really don’t have to,” I protested, quickly opening my own door. “I don’t even like these people!”

She ignored me while I tagged along behind her up the walkway to the porch.

“Where have you been?” Mr. Kincade barked, fuming.

“I’m sorry, Mr. and Mrs.-”

“Kincade,” I whispered.

“Kincade,” she continued. “I wanted to have a chat with the girl whose life my ex-husband saved, but didn’t get a chance at the funeral. I took her to lunch.”

“She snuck out,” Mrs. Kincade said. “Apparently, our daughter has a habit of running away.”

“I just needed a little air,” I said defiantly. Besides, if I was really going to run away, I’d take Sophia with me. There’s no way I’d leave her here with you. You already fucked up one daughter’s life.

Cheryl was still in meet-the-parents mode and added, “You have a lovely daughter Mr. and Mrs. Kincade.”

“Our daughter is only fifteen, Ms…”

“Baker,” she replied. “Cheryl Baker.”

I looked at Cheryl, surprised. She didn’t change her name?

“We don’t appreciate our daughter being abducted by strangers, Ms. Baker,” Mr. Kincade accused.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Cheryl apologized. “I thought she told you where she was going.”

“She most certainly did not.” 

“I don’t want her to get in trouble. I’ll take responsibility. I’m sorry - I should’ve introduced myself earlier and explained who I am and where we were going and asked your permission to take her to lunch.”

The Kincades said nothing and Cheryl shifted uncomfortably.  I don’t know what she was expecting with this encounter. During our relationship, she often asked about my real parents - what they were like and whether they would’ve approved of her. Maybe she missed out on the whole in-law experience. At least now she knows why Emma ran away in the first place. Or maybe she’s internally laughing her ass off at my misfortune.

Cheryl sighed in defeat. “I apologize. I should get going.” She looked at me with raised eyebrows, a nonverbal hint that she pitied my current living situation. Perhaps she changed her mind about getting out of the car.

Cheryl walked back to her car and as she opened the car door we made eye contact and she smiled back at me. A smile I hadn’t seen in forever, one which reawakened something in me I hadn't felt in forever.

As I watched my ex-wife drive away, the Kincades put their collective foot down.

“You’re grounded for the rest of the summer.” Mr. Kincade said. “No leaving the house. No friends over.” They looked at Sophia. “Except this one - who you invited to live here without our permission.”

“Grounded?” I asked, incredulously. I almost reminded them I’d be back at school in a few weeks, but they could put the kibosh on that. “Fine,” I shrugged, heading for the door.

We all walked back inside and Sophia whispered to me. “I’m sorry Cate, I tried to cover for you. They weren’t having it.”

“It’s OK,” I replied. “Thank you for trying.”

“Did it help?” she asked. “Getting some air.”

“Yeah, it did,” I replied. “And Cheryl knows I’m Jack.”

Sophia stopped and stared at me.

“What?” I replied defensively. “You told Alyssa. Max told her. I confirmed it. Anyway, It’s OK,” I assured her. “She took it well. We had a nice chat.”

“Then it was worth it,” she smiled at me.

Well then. Two and a half more weeks until we go back to school. And I’m grounded. Stuck in a house with the Kincades and Sophia. Fuck. This was going to drag.