34

He’d hardly slept all night. He had no way of knowing if Tyler had tried anything else after Mia left with him after the movie. When he’d dropped Savannah off, he’d been tempted to wait around until he could sneak into her bedroom again. But he wasn’t sure if he could handle that either. Being so close to her and alone had been difficult. He wrote it off as he’d just become fond of her since she’d kept his secret. That was all. Nothing more.

It was Saturday, so he made sure that he was up early and, in the store, before she got there for her shift. It also gave him a chance to calm him mom down. Ever since Mia had caught his dad hitting her, she’d been in a panic. She was terrified Mia was going to say something. At the very least, she knew it might be awkward seeing her again.

“I told you mom. she’s promised not to say anything. So, she won’t.” He was watching his mom pace up and down the aisle.