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

Ash looked around at them all, still trying to make sense of everything. Dayna hadn’t said a word since they’d left Matt’s house. She held her duffle bag close and kept her eyes lowered. Kevin sat beside her, jiggling around. Matt stared at Ash as if he were dealing with his own shock and disbelief. Jon-Allen completed the circle, clutching his bags and looking at everyone with a half-smile. Ash noticed for the first time Matt and Jon-Allen both wore backpacks and each carried two paper grocery sacks.


“Well,” she said, looking back at the others, who all gazed back expectantly. “I left on my own to find you, Matt, but on the way I met up with Dayna and Kevin.”


“Actually, she hid in our house and we found her,” Kevin said.


Matt and Jon-Allen laughed. Dayna peeked out at them from behind her hair.


Chapter 62