Page 27 of The Incredible Ordinary

“Yeah?” I say calmly and wait.

“I don’t know what you or Aiden want to tell yourself, but I’m not exactly helpless. I’m tall for my age. I can get a job. I know how to do lots of things. This place is shit anyway. I’ll get out of here.”

I lean back, casually crossing my ankles. “Where are you headed?”

He folds his arms over his chest and scoffs before he rolls his eyes and looks away.

“Without a roof over your head, winter would pose some difficulties. So, somewhere warm?”

I don’t mean anything by it, but based on Rory’s reaction I’m also missing something. His jaw clenches, and he looks away.

“I’m not going there,” he blurts.

“Where?”

“There.To him. I’m not going.”

He pushes his chair back, the legs screech when they drag backward on the floor. His whole body is tight with something that looks like a mix of anger and fear he tries so hard to hide.

“Him?” I ask.

“To Reno. With Dallas. You want to send me back? Well, fuck you. I’m not going, and fuck you if you think you can make me.”

He gets up.

“Sit down,” I say sharply.

His jaw clenches, and he hovers, torn between taking a step back and staying in place. I’ve never seen such a visceral representation of fight or flight.

“We’re not sending you anywhere,” I say.

He scoffs, but stays put for now.

I figure that’s a win.

I take the pencils and slide them toward him over the table. He eyes them suspiciously before he glances at me. I keep the pencils in place and tap my fingers on them. He approaches slowly, like a wild animal, an inch at a time, curious but wary, lured in by the pencils.

“Sit down,” I say. “Please.”

He looks at me for a long time before he takes a seat again. Once again, he crosses his arms over his chest.

He nods at the pencils. “What’s that?”

I pick up one of the pencils and roll it to him across the table. He picks it up and inspects it.

“You like to draw,” I say.

He stares at me for the longest time.

And then he’s suddenly up.

Credit where credit is due. He’s fast.

I’ve barely blinked before he’s out the door. The only reason he doesn’t take off into the night is that he runs straight into Aiden at the front door, costing him the few valuable seconds I need to catch up with him.

I grab his forearm to stop him from fleeing, and he fucking loses it. It’s like trying to restrain a feral animal.

“What the fuck?!” Aiden snaps.