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

“Maybe once your foster parents see how serious you are, they’ll let you and your brother be together,” Dayna said quietly.


“I hope so. If they don’t, I’m headed to juvy.”


There was silence for a minute, except for a breeze whooshing through the trees and birds chirping.


“Now that you guys are with me, I don’t know how all four of us will be able to stay together. I don’t know what to do,” Ash said. “What if I do get to live with Matt…but I lose the two of you?”


Kevin’s lip trembled, and Dayna reached for his hand with a blank expression. Ash felt her heart break. She had only wanted to get Dayna and Kevin away from their parents at first…now she couldn’t imagine life without them.


Chapter 137