Grandma felt extremely guilty. She thought it was all her fault; she'd tried to set me up with Foster in the first place. I tried to convince her it was my own choice; my own mistake, but she still blamed herself.

But I had other things to worry about.

One giorno at school, Echo wasn't there. I wouldn't have been so worried, if people weren't freaking out about it. I kept hearing Echo's name detto in the hallways, along with "did te hear?" The teachers in some classes even told kids to stop talking about it; it was none of their business. But it was mine. She was my best friend, and I didn't even know what happened to her.

So before lunch, I went up to some random kid. I think his name was Asher.

"Hey, do te know what happened to Echo?" I asked, He stared at me for a moment, then nodded. He looked around, then spoke in a quiet voice.

"She got sent to rehab for her cutting," he whispered. My cuore sank into my stomach. Everything got blurry, and I felt myself sway a little bit. "Cosette?" I heard him say, but it sounded very far off. I blinked, and tried to refocus.

The successivo thing I knew, I was over da the drinking fountain, sitting up against the wall. My head was spinning, but I could hear someone successivo to me. Then I hand came in front of my face, holding a cup.

"Drink this," a voice said. I flinched a little bit, and looked up to see Asher. I took the cup from his hand and took a sip. It was water. I set it down on the ground, and held my head in my hands. "How're te feeling?" Asher asked.

"What happened," I muttered. My head was still spinning, and things were vaguely clear. Echo was in rehab? How'd they find out?

"Well, te didn't look so good, so I brought te here. te passed out for a couple secondi on the way."

"That's not what I meant," I sighed.

"Oh," he said. "Um, I don't really know. There were always rumors, but I guess the counselor decided to check into it. They dragged her off yesterday evening."

"Oh no..." I whimpered. There was an awkward silence.

"So... te knew?" he asked. My face flushed.

"Yes," I sighed. He was quiet again.

"Well... It's not your fault... Just so y'know," he detto softly. "I gotta go. Maybe I'll see te around?" I ignored him. I was too mad at myself. I don't know why. He patted my head gently before leaving, like I was a little kid o something.

***

I slammed the door shut, as I came in. Grandma jumped in her seat, surprised. I was sorry I'd scared her, but I was still too angry to apologize.

"Cosette, Dear, what's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Echo," I said.

"What? What's wrong? Did te two have a fight?"

"No, she's... She's gone."

"What do te mean?" she asked, astonished.

"She's..." I didn't know what to say. I sighed. "She's in rehab." Grandma's eyes widened.

"May I ask why?" she asked politely. I bit my lip. I wasn't sure if I should tell her. I didn't want her to look down on Echo o anything...

"She cuts herself," I whispered. Grandma's eyes got even bigger, which I didn't know was possible, and her jaw dropped.

"Oh my...! Why? Is she alright? When is she coming back?"

"I don't know. Her parents... They're mean to her and her brother.." I stopped. Her brother. Ace. He was home alone with his alcoholic parents. "I gotta go," I detto suddenly, bursting out the door. I ran to Echo's house, which was four blocks away. I'd been there only once; and I hadn't gone inside. Echo made it clear she didn't want her parents near me. I didn't blame her.

I went up to the porch, and rang the doorbell.

"Ace! Get the fucking door!" I heard a voice shout. It was slurred a little bit, and sounded tired. I tried to take deep breaths to catch my breath, and calm myself down. A couple minuti later, Ace opened the door. His face was wet with tears, and he had a black eye already. He frowned when he saw me, and started to cry. He ran to me, and wrapped his legs around my legs and sobbed.

"Are te ok?" I asked. It was a stupid question, but I asked it anyways.

"I want Echo," he cried.

"I know te do," I sighed. "I don't know when she's coming back yet, though." There was a crash from inside. "Would they notice if te weren't here?" I asked. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and shook his head. "You can stay at my house until she gets back, ok?"

"Thank you," he detto in a tiny voice. I sent him inside to go get his pajamas, and backpack and anything else he'd need. I knew I had to wait outside, but it scared the crap out of me. What if they hurt him? What if they saw him try to leave? I started to panic when ten minuti passed, but then he came out, dragging a bag behind him. I took it from him and swung it over my shoulder, then picked him up. He was so light; did they ever feed him? He wrapped his arms and legs around me as I carried him back home.

Grandma was perfectly fine with having Ace stay over for a while. He kind of reminded me of a younger Demetri. It made my cuore ache. Usually he was just a pain in the ass. But now that I thought about it, he wasn't half bad.

Ace fell asleep on the couch, and I slept on the floor that night. I couldn't stop thinking about Demetri then, and my sisters. And Franklin. And Mother.

And Father.

When I thought of him, rage boiled under my skin. I just wanted to punch, punzone something o scream, just to get out all my anger. He was the worst man I'd ever met... and I've met a lot of assholes. Right now, I was not afraid to say this, o ashamed; I hate my Father.

But I caught myself, and thought. If he wasn't the way he was, I'd never have left. I wouldn't know Grandma, one of the nicest people I've ever met. I wouldn't know Echo o Ace. I wouldn't even have met Foster, which was nice while it had lasted.

If my father wasn't such a jerk, my life wouldn't be the way it is now. And I like it this way. I like it much better than the way it was before.

I guess I was kind of thankful for my evil father.