Chapter Thirty

Chores and Things

Thalia

Just like every other time she began to feel good and settle, her day had come crashing down. Ann was fun, not all serious and grumpy like it seemed everyone else was. Picking up trash had hardly felt like work at all. They spent the day mostly talking about food and the summertime, Ann apparently loved to cook, which was cool because Thalia happened to love eating.

They raced and made a game of finding cans, and even seeing Koin didn't bring on its usual rush of confusion. She was even a little excited about the fire, a chance to meet people, and possibly blend into a crowd again.

Her heart dropped as she came to the house, reality crashing back into her. She had almost forgotten about what would be waiting for her. The way Dedrick looked down at her, the state of their living room with missing wall where there had once been family pictures. It made her feel all to guilty, and she couldn't get upstairs fast enough. It both amazed and bothered her that the