Chapter 40

• In the apartment, we sit drinking coffee; we don’t talk about what happened. Instead, I tell him about Sophie and want to help her. I can’t tell him why without explaining my mother’s injuries. I know if I tell him Ray is the reason she’s in the hospital, he will go back out and find him and drag him to the police station or worse, and I know it’s pointless. My mother will never point the finger at Ray. I already know that she won’t even break up with him despite his actions. Instead, she’ll be angry at me for letting Jake beat him up.
• Such is the twisted logic of my mother.
• “Isn’t that what your mother does, help kids like Sophie?” he asks gently. I observe him, realizing I’m still obsessively scanning his face and hands for injuries. Since we walked into the apartment, I’ve been doing it, and I still can rest despite seeing no evidence aside from some bruised knuckles. He’s indestructible, like a hero should be.