At the other end of the sports bar, Logan and Isaiah are playing pool. Scratch that, they’re pretending to play pool as they watch the two of us. I blow a kiss in Logan’s direction and his lips tilt up. It’s impossible how much I love him. Impossible to almost believe I might make my dreams with him come true someday.

Rachel grabs my hand. “I’m thirsty.”

We head to the bar and she orders a bottled water, telling the bartender to put it on West’s tab. He declared he was buying tonight and I don’t argue with free cheese sticks.

“I’m still mad at you,” Rachel says as she wipes the sweat from dancing off her forehead. “I’m still mad at them, too. None of you should have frozen me out.”

“I was trying to freeze you all out,” I say as an explanation.

“Still not okay. Promise me you won’t do that again.”

Considering I don’t plan on getting shot again, I concede. “Promise.” I tug at a lock of her long blond hair. “Up for dancing some more?”

“I’m always up for dancing.”

I link my fingers with Rachel’s and we discover the middle of the dance floor again.

Logan

Abby’s on fire tonight. A living breathing fireworks show. She’s danced with Rachel, with West, has even dragged me out a couple times, but I can’t admit to doing much more than touching Abby’s hips as she moves to the music.

A song ends, another begins, but Abby leaves Rachel with Isaiah on the dance floor and she joins me at the pool table West, Haley, and I have been playing on.

Abby’s covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and in her typical fashion, she swipes my bottle of water and drinks it down. “What time is it?”

I check my cell. “Eleven thirty. Rachel has about ten minutes left before she has to leave to make curfew.”

Abby’s very protective of her best girlfriend, Rachel, and it’s been good to see the two of them reunited if only for a short period of time.

She sets the bottle of water down and laces her fingers with mine. “I’m about to be arrested.”

A surge of panic runs through me and I automatically scan the room searching for the cops. Abby reaches up, places her hand on my cheek and forces my gaze back to hers.

“It’s okay.”

I tighten my hold on her hand. “We can get you out of here.” And then my mind catches up like slamming brakes at a hundred miles per hour. “Why would you be arrested?”

Abby’s so damn cool that it’s causing my skin to want to peel off the bone.

“In my back pocket is a baggie of pot. Enough to cause me problems, but not enough to cause me big problems. Over there at the bar, there’s an undercover officer waiting for me. The big dude that people are scared of. I mean really? That’s the undercover person they go with? The one people are naturally terrified of? Maybe that’s what I should do with my life. Become a consultant on how to actually catch the bad guys. Anyhow, I digress.”

I glance over and Abby’s right. There’s a man there at the bar and nobody sits or stands within two feet of him. He’s big and he’s bald and he’s watching me and Abby.

“I will go over to buy another bottle of water. He’ll ask me if I’m drinking anything tonight. I’ll tell him no because I have something to smoke later. He asks if he can partake. I’ll say no. He’ll then ask if he can buy it from me and then I’ll say yes. He’ll put handcuffs on me, he’ll read me my rights, and then he’ll escort me to his lovely police car. After that, I will be arraigned and I will be put into juvenile detention. I will stay there. I will have my day in court and I will be sentenced to that juvenile detention center for a period of time.”

“Am I hearing this right?” West joins us and I’m guessing I’m looking just as pissed as he appears. “Place is loud, but I think I just heard you describe getting arrested.”

“You did,” Abby says with a brief shrug. “We will now go over a list of what you will not do. You will not stop me. You will not go anywhere near me once I head over to the bar.”

“Isaiah!” West yells out. “Get over here. Abby’s gone fucking nuts.”

Abby doesn’t skip a beat as she continues, “You will not say a word to the police officer. You will not follow me out to the car. You will not show up at my arraignment. You will not try to bail me out of jail. There will be no bail.”

She points at West. “You and your sister will not beg your rich daddy to pull strings. You will all let me rot in that detention center until the system decides to let me out.”

I keep staring at Abby, feeling the coldness of shock, and she doesn’t take her eyes off of me. Isaiah joins us and West gives a brief rundown of what’s going on and Isaiah’s talking. Fast. Saying the words I want to say, getting pissed like how I want to get pissed, but the way Abby tilts her head and squeezes my hand, I understand she has a plan.

“Why this way?” I ask, and Isaiah shuts up.

“I can stay in Louisville this way,” she says. “Ricky won’t touch me physically and he won’t ask me to sell with law enforcement watching me as a possible dealer. If I do this, I don’t have to give up being me. I don’t have to leave town. I don’t have to be anyone other than Abby and I like being Abby. Almost as much as I love queso and bunnies.”

“How long?”

Abby briefly glances away and then slowly breathes out. “I made this deal and I asked them to keep me until at least a month before I graduate from high school. That way I won’t be in the foster system for long.”