Free Just a Little (5-8) by Tracie Puckett Page A

of time. In the meantime, keep a low profile. Don’t let on that you know anything, okay?”
    “Know anything about what?”
    “Good girl,” he gave me one swift pat on the back. “Have a good birthday tomorrow, and I’ll see you Friday.”
    I walked him to the front door and watched as he made his way to the car.
    “Hey Bruno,” I said, leaning against the doorframe, “thanks. For everything.”
    “Sure.” He zipped his jacket and opened the car door. “Anytime, Julie.”

CHAPTER TWO
    Tuesday, March 05|10:00 p.m.
    Charlie passed out on the couch around nine. Sometime between old sitcom reruns and stuffing his face with day-old pizza, he somehow managed to drift into a deep sleep. And I mean deep . He hadn’t so much as moved a muscle since he closed his eyes. Surprisingly, even Matt’s return from his shift at the flower shop hadn’t disturbed Charlie’s slumber.
    After my cousin trekked upstairs and into his bedroom to settle in for the night, I gave the living room a quick once-over. I tossed the pizza box in the garbage, collected a few empty soda cans, and laid a blanket over my sleeping uncle. With a quick kiss to the forehead, I pried the remote from his hand and turned off the TV.
    It wasn’t until an hour later that the silence in the house became unbearable. Both of the guys were fast asleep, not at all in keeping with their normal schedules. Which, yes, I understood. They were overworked—Charlie, with the shifts at the station and party planning; Matt, with school and his (secret) double work schedule. With them in bed and the house without the usual buzz of the television or Matt’s late night phone conversation with Kara, there wasn’t much to distract me from the constant replay of my earlier meeting with Bruno. The deafening silence had only opened up endless opportunities for me to overthink every minute detail of what I’d learned.
    I found myself heading upstairs sometime before eleven. After a quick change into some pajamas, a pair of Luke’s old sweatpants and a tee-shirt, I slipped into bed. I prayed for sleep to find me as quickly as it’d found the rest of my family, but I had no such luck. My brain wasn’t nearly as tired as the rest of my body. So after a bout of sheep counting (I managed to count at least seven hundred before giving up), I pushed back the covers and slid out of bed. I left my room and headed down the dark hallway, managing to avoid most of the creaky floorboards. When I finally reached the bathroom and closed the door, I turned on the shower and quickly stripped my pajamas to the floor.
    Moments later, I gladly stood beneath a scalding stream and let it pelt against the back of my neck. Masochistic as it seemed, the scorching water turned out to be the exact distraction I’d been looking for. I needed something— anything —to take my mind off of Luke, Bruno, and that dreaded surprise party.
    I needed answers.
    No, what I needed was an escape plan.
    No, seriously, what I needed was to make like Derek and get the hell out of dodge.
    But running would only get me so far. It’d take me away from the people, but it wouldn’t take me away from the problems. At the end of the day, I’d still be stuck facing my demons. Running seemed as likely an answer as eating a gallon of ice cream. Good in theory, bad in practice.
    I dropped my head against the shower wall and let the hot water fall onto my shoulders. Slowly but surely, second by second, the tension in my muscles began to melt away. Only minutes later, I heard rustling in the hallway. Assuming Charlie had finally decided to come upstairs to bed, I ignored the noise and closed my eyes. It wasn’t until the door creaked open that I stood straight, nearly paralyzed.
    “Hello,” I said, offended that Matt or Charlie would think it was okay to just barge in. “Occupied, obviously.”
    When the door closed, I immediately knew I wasn’t alone. Whoever had walked into the bathroom hadn’t left. There was a