Free Flee by Keely James

serious.
    â€œYou may still have a year left of high school, but let’s not fool ourselves. You’re the man of this little family now. You may have just turned eighteen, but you might as well be thirty. You’re mature beyond your years. I guess recent circumstances have stolen some of your childhood. I’m sorry for that, but I’m so proud of how you’ve risen to the occasion. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you don’t have to ask my permission for things like that. I’m concerned, but I trust you completely. I’m well aware that tables have been turned lately, and you’ve been taking care of me. You can back off on that, a little at least. I’m doing better.” She patted the top of my head. “Thank you. But now I’m giving you permission to live your life without asking me for permission for everything. Don’t get me wrong. I still want to know where you are for peace of mind’s sake. But you need to just tell me, not ask me. And any of your friends are welcome here anytime. Comprende? ”
    â€œ Comprende. Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
    â€œI love you, too. Just be careful, Mateo. I don’t think my heart can bear to see anyone else I love hurting any more than we already are. There’s been enough of that for a lifetime.”
    I carried what was left of my sandwich onto the back patio and wondered if I should call Blake and ask her about Friday or just wait until I saw her in the morning. I had her number programmed into my phone but had never used it. It was part of keeping careful boundaries in place. I really didn’t want to draw her into my potentially dangerous life, but I couldn’t seem to stay away either. I couldn’t imagine exposing her to the possibility of any more pain. I would do everything I could to prevent that, even denying my own heart what it so clearly wanted. So far I was her school friend and running partner only. She seemed to need and want that as much as I needed and wanted her presence in my life. She stayed in close proximity to me at school but never asked for more. Weekends were torturous. There had only been three of them so far, and I had spent them obsessing over how she was doing. The thought of her sitting sad and lonely at Coach Joe’s house had nearly given me nightmares.
    I was fiddling with my phone, contemplating the right thing to do, when Doodles rose and began barking at the seemingly empty space behind the pool. Our house was built on a ridge, the negative edge pool the last thing seen before the downtown Austin skyline way in the distance. The property continued for another half-acre past the pool, but it was a steep, terraced cliff.
    â€œWhat is it boy?” I asked the dog, amused at such a deep-throated bark coming from such a pile of curly fluff. “Do you hear a raccoon or a possum?” Maybe it was the coyoté we had heard three nights ago howling at the moon. That had given the security team a little excitement in their thus far boring assignment. I moved to grab Doodles’ collar, prepared to pull him inside to safety. That was a fight I was sure he wouldn’t win.
    â€œMateo.” My name was whispered from that empty space beyond the pool and my blood chilled. Who would go to such extremes to approach the house? Where was the security detail? How could I alert them quickly?
    â€œMateo, help.” The voice was louder now and familiar. I relaxed but remained confused. What was he doing here?
    â€œHector?” I asked. I walked along the limestone edge of the pool and looked over. The terraced property wound down from our yard into the little canyon below. Two terraces down Hector sat, sweaty and breathing hard. Seeing him was like seeing family, and I smiled in spite of myself.
    â€œI can see that in my six weeks away you have let yourself get sadly out of shape. You really shouldn’t let yourself go like that, man. You’re not as young