The Girls of Skylark Lane: Chapters 13–16

Aggie lay in bed for a long time that night, feeling numb, her sister’s words reverberating around in her brain.

“You look nice,” Jac said, clearly extending an olive branch, and Tink opened her mouth to say something, when Josephine came racing out of the house in her own Rockford Peach uniform.

Aggie’s heart became as heavy as her candy loot (full-size candy bars were amazing, but wow, were they heavy) as they walked around the large cul-de-sac.

Aggie had the sudden urge to rush over to Tink and give her a hug, but judging from the sulky look on Tink’s face, that gesture would probably not be received well. Instead, she just hung back so she could walk next to her friend, tactfully avoiding Josephine’s gyrating arms.

“Whoa!” he said. “What’s going on? Why is everyone yelling?”
“Because she’s rude!” Aggie said, glowering at Jac.

What had seemed like a fun and positive message now seemed ominous and threatening, and Aggie shrank into her seat, squeezing Jac’s hand again.

“At least we’re all safe,” Jac added, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw both her dads nod in tandem as they watched the screen.

Jac blinked a few times, feeling sticky and tired and disoriented. “What time is it?” she mumbled.

Both sides of the street were smoldering as they got up to their neighborhood, trees and brush and wildflowers all gone.

In fact, the only living thing that had had a fantastic time in the hotel was Jack the Rat, who had feasted on room service (they had forgotten to grab his kibble for him), peed in the bathtub, slept nestled between his two favorite people (obviously Jac and Aggie, Jack the Rat had zero use for their dads), and had napped in the sunshine while overlooking the pool and cabanas.

“We’re back!” Aggie screamed as they ran inside, and Jac could smell smoke and see soot stains on the wall, but she could also see the sunlight coming in through their kitchen, and their old sofa that one dad hated and the other adored, and she could see up the stairs into Aggie’s bedroom, and after so much uncertainty and change and fear, Jac grinned and impulsively hugged the banister.

Taylor’s family showed up next, looking a little bedraggled but otherwise okay, and carrying a platter of sandwiches and several bags of chips.

Dylan seemed both nervous and pleased to be there, and both Aggie and Jac gave their parents a stern look before letting Dylan’s family into the foyer.

They finally settled around Jac’s bed, the trundle pulled out so that they could accommodate everyone.

They finally settled around Jac’s bed, the trundle pulled out so that they could accommodate everyone.