The punishment for a seventh-grade dropout runaway is probably pretty harsh, but Ash Barker doesn't care. She can’t waste time or emotions on anyone but her brother, Matt. They were placed in separate foster homes, so Ash runs away to find him. If she fails, she’s headed back to juvenile detention. Everything is going right on schedule until two kids, Dayna and Kevin, barge into her hideout -- which just happens to be in their house. She ditches the pair fast, but can’t stop thinking about those bruised, skinny kids. Dayna and Kevin live with abusive parents who force them to stay in their room most of the time. If they go to the authorities for help, they’ll be split up, too. Ash knows how that feels, and she goes back to help, taking the two with her. With any luck, they’ll all help each other along the way. Meanwhile, as Matt waits for Ash, he can’t resist telling his foster brother and best friend, Jon-Allen, about the plans. They stash food, earn money, and keep watch for the night Ash appears at their bedroom window. Ash is so happy to be reunited with Matt and to discover she’s falling in love with Dayna that, at first, she doesn’t worry about what they’ll do next. But life on the road begins to take its toll -- they have to resort to shoplifting and scavenging to survive. Ash feels a growing sense of guilt at the disaster she’s made of everyone’s lives. Can she somehow keep her newfound “family” together despite hunger and sickness? Or will she be able to find the strength to reach out for help?

No Turning Back

“When will she be here?” Jon-Allen asked.


Matt wasn’t supposed to tell anybody Ash was coming, but hadn’t been able to resist telling Jon-Allen. What if she showed up one night and Matt was asleep and didn’t hear her? He needed someone to help keep watch.


“Do you know what you’re going to do once you leave?” Jon-Allen asked.


“No.” He put his hand on the window pane.


“When my mom gets out of prison you can both live with us,” Jon-Allen said.


“I hear Tyler,” Jon-Allen said. They jumped into their beds.


“Jason’s in big trouble,” Tyler called, striding through the door.


Matt covered his head with the blanket again. He wanted to leave right now, but Ash had told him to wait here. With Tyler around, it looked like that was the only thing he would be able to do.


Ash awoke with a shiver. The sky was gray. Dayna groaned as Kevin scrambled over her.


Ash felt the grass. “No. That’s just dew.”


Chapter 20