The Eight Year Ledger novel · Chapter 24 of 32
Chapter 24: Visiting
"Stay in the kitchen," I said. "I'm coming."
Beau drove.
He didn't ask a single question on the way.
Todd's mother's porch light was on when we pulled up, and she was at the door in a quilted robe.
"He thought I was asleep," she said. "I was a nurse thirty-five years. I hear a phone dial through two walls."
Gabe was at her kitchen table in his pajamas.
The black Lake Erie stone sat in front of him on the placemat.
I didn't know he'd packed it.
I sat down next to him.
He didn't look at me.
"A boy in 3C says when they arrest you, you go to jail forever."
"Your dad's at his apartment."
"Then why didn't he come Wednesday?"
I didn't have an answer that was true and small enough.
His grandmother pulled out the chair across from him and sat down in her robe.
"Because he's ashamed of himself," she said.
Gabe looked at her.
"Grown-ups stay away when they're ashamed," she said. "It's a bad habit. Your grandfather had it too."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–16 of The Eight Year Ledger are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 23 · All chapters · Chapter 25 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend