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that bad?”
    He nods his head yes. I try to keep my body in front of him so that he will not be seen. Thank goodness he is sitting down, or it would be impossible. Luckily, the only thing that can be seen is his messy brown hair. Not cute messy hair like Cardelian’s, but more on the side of ‘I just woke up and really didn’t brush my hair, so one side is a big rat nest’ messy.
    “Oh, Eddie.” What am I going to do with him? I look over my shoulder at the pack of rats that have formed behind us, and they are starting to get closer. Crap. “Eddie, right now there’s a group of kids behind us that would love nothing more than to paint the halls with your pain, so please stop crying,” I beg. Unfortunately, this does not help. My words make him cry harder and the snot to come out faster. To top it off, he’s sniffling loudly.
    Great, why can’t I just mind my own business and worry about myself? It really doesn’t matter if the creep runs back and tells the whole school about the sniveling mess Eddie is. It’s not as if he is going to win the popularity contests any time soon, but I can’t stand the thought of anyone hurting this gentle beast.
    “Eddie wants his mommy,” he wails.
    It’s always the big ones that want their mommies. I peel off my sweatshirt, exposing my pink T-shirt with the cat in a straw hat on it and a bouquet of roses in its paws. Just my luck that today is laundry day, I wasn’t planning to take my sweatshirt off.
    “Nice shirt,” Juliet cackles as she passes by us.
    I ignore the fits of giggles from her and her hordes of followers and start to clean Eddie’s face with my sweatshirt. I can’t very well leave him here, exposed to the rats, while I go to get tissues. I start with his damp forehead and move to his eyes, then yes, to his nose, which takes a few wipes to clean up all the boogers he’s producing.
    Gross.
    “Momma sings to Eddie when Eddie is sad. Sing to Eddie.” He sucks a long trail of snot back into his nose.
    Thank goodness for my strong gag reflexes. “No, Eddie, I don’t think so.”
    “Sing. Sing. Sing,” Eddie chants, clapping his hands together.
    “Shhh. Okay, fine, just be quiet.” I clear my voice and sing very softly, attempting to not draw any more attention than we already have.
    “Hush little bird, dry your tears, everything will be okay,” I sing like my mother used to sing when I was younger.
    “Eddie can’t hear. Louder,” he shouts.
    Thanks, Eddie. So much for trying to keep us from being noticed. I listen to his demand and sing louder.
    “Hush little bird, dry your tears, everything will be okay. Your wings are brand new and you are just learning to fly,” I sing off key.
    “Louder. Louder. Eddie like,” Eddie chants, clapping his hands together.
    The gym falls silent, and I can feel all eyes are on my back, burning holes into me. “Your wings are new, and you are just learning to fly,” I belt as loud and off key as possible.
    Eddie claps and kicks his feet out from under him slamming them on to the gym floor.
    “Hey! Hey! This is not freaking Glee . This is the fine art of Physical Education, and if you’re not going to take it seriously, then you’re to sit on that bench, and no singing!” Coach bellows.
    I don’t have time to respond because I’m swept up into Eddie’s enormous arms. He squeezes me, and my ribs feel like they might crack in his grip. He dances us in a circle, singing his own version of the song. A cold sweat drips down my back and an uneasy feeling settles over me. Then I see him as we go around. Pale blue eyes in the corner of the gym watching us. No, watching me.
    Jaxson .

Chapter Four
    We spin around again, and this time around, Jaxson is gone. When Eddie eventually puts me down, I gather up my belongings and go after Jaxson. I push open the side doors, a wall of icy air hits me in the face. It gets cold in Copake Falls, but it’s unusually cold this year. Ever since the foster brothers showed up, the