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

She hated lying still. As long as they kept walking, her mind was busy. But every time they stopped to rest she thought about her parents; mostly Tom. The main question that forced its way into her mind was one she’d never been able to think of before because she was always trying to protect herself or Kevin. Now, she couldn’t stop wondering: Why?


Hail hissed against her blanket. She looked at Kevin, who was holding his bear with his eyes squeezed shut. She couldn’t stop her racing brain. Why was their mom silent most of the time? Was there something wrong with her or did she just not care about her own kids? Dayna knew her mom drank almost as much as her dad did, but had also worn the marks of his anger on her own body. Why did she put up with it?


Dayna didn’t understand her parents and didn’t think she ever would. She wanted to know why they couldn’t just love her.


Chapter 111