"For understanding my job," I said, feeling my chest get tight. What was going on at Will's house right now? Where they reaming him out again? Had his dad finally seen reason? I could hardly stand the wait. "Will told his folks. They aren't taking it well."

"Ah," Mom said. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted the spot next to her. "It's not my place to meddle in someone else's family, but Will's situation never seemed all that healthy."

"It's not." I started pacing again, unable to stand still a second longer. "I hope it's okayabut I told him if they kicked him out he could crash here awhile."

Mom didn't answer for a few minutes. "Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does, we have the room and I love that kid as much as I love my own. He's always welcome here."

"Andaum, he might need a lawyer."

Mom's eyes widened. "Why?"

"He plans to sue for emancipation if they don't let him stay on the team. He has a trust fund the size of Billings' yearly budgetahe can pay you if he wins."

"I'd have to hear the whole story before I agree to doing anything like that," Mom said. "But if the story's right, I'll represent him for free."

I nodded, too full up on everything said and done today to risk speaking. But I knew how lucky I was to be sitting here with my mom.

Chapter Twenty-Eight.

On Monday, I followed Will through the slushy parking lot, dreading my entrance into Greenhill High. The official cover story for my absence was that I'd been selected for an immersion study in Canada, which was a joke given that Mamie was the only Archer who'd been anything other than a B-student. Keeping my story straight was going to be a pain, too, despite the flow chart and fake calendar Sergeant Davis had prepared as cues.

Then things got worseaor better, depending on your perspective.

Will and I had barely crossed the threshold when something tiny and volatile launched itself at Will with the force of a wrecking ball. With a huge smile, he caught the projectile and lifted her off the ground.

"I've missed you!" Penn cried. She planted a big kiss on him, then pulled away. Her smile slid right off her face. "What happened to you?"

Will shot me a panicked look. "Uha"

"You're covered with bruises. I thought you went skiing, not brawling in a roadside bar!" Penn wriggled out of his arms and marched over to stand toe-to-toe to me. After looking me up and down, she pointed a finger at my chest. "No, you tell me. What were you two doing?"

"Penn, take it easy," a soft voice said. "There are some things I think these guys failed to mention to you, but now's not the time." Ella peeked around Will's back to give me a wry smile. "I'd suggest a lunch meeting."

Penn was still quivering with intensity and I worried she might punch me. "Fine, lunch." She turned on Will. "You don't come strolling into school looking like you got hit by a dump truck and forget to tell your girl, Giant Will. The story better be good."

"Trust me," Ella saida"and good thing, because Will and I were struck mute by the wrath of Penn. "It's a spectacular story."

At that, Penn's eyebrows shot up. "Okay, but I get wound up when I'm worried. Y'all probably should know that." She grabbed Will's elbow and hauled herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Walk me to class."

Will bowed, complete with arm flourish. "Your wish is my command."

"Oh, my God," I choked out, laughinga"mostly because I relieved I didn't get punched in the stomach. "Dude, there's sucking up and there'sawhatever that was."

Penn glowered. It was cute and scary all at the same time. "Don't you start. It's hard work training him up right. I get him nice and broken in, then you can tease."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, barely keeping from cracking up, especially at the star struck look on Will's face. "Carry on."

They took off, leaving me alone with Ella. She touched my arm. "I'm glad to see you're in one piece."

My heart stopped beating for a ten-count. God, she was just so beautiful. Ella had her auburn hair pulled back in a clip, but stray strands brushed against her neck, and I would've paid every penny I had to tuck them back into place.

Instead I tried very hard not to stare at the bit of collarbone visible because her t-shirt was off-center, or wonder why her smile was a little crooked and sad. I can't say I was totally successful in the not-staring, but I managed to say, "Thanks. It's weird to be home."

"I'm sure it is. I'm still glad to see you, though."

We stood there, staring awkwardly at each other, until the early bell rang and the spell was broken. I mumbled something about needing to see Mrs. Stevens before first period and hurried away, not sure I could trust myself around Ella. The problem with hope was that it got dashed a lot, and I didn't want to read anything more into her greeting other than her being friendly. I knew I'd get hurt if I did. If not by Ella, then by Tink, who'd just push her away again.

Ah, I'd forgotten about all the drama this place conjures up. Tink sighed. Well, if you can stand being here for a few months, so can I.

I clenched my fists, hoping she could tell by my body language that she needed to shut up.

I waded through the crowd to the main office and checked in with the secretary. I hadn't lied to Ella; Mrs. Stevens had requested that I stop by to see her before going back to class, probably to make sure I was fit to roam the halls. After last year's PTSD episode, when I'd brawled with invisible monsters during passing period, she had cause to wonder.

It wasn't a surprise when she gave me a looking over before calling me into her office, either. I followed her inside and stood until she'd taken her seat behind the large desk that took up most of the room. The squeaky guest chair, threadbare carpet and sage-green walls were beginning to feel homeyawhich probably wasn't a good thing.

"Welcome back, Mr. Archer," Mrs. Stevens said, giving me a kind smile. "I see you're mostly in one piece this time." Her smiled faded a bit. "But you and Mr. Cruessan both look very tired."

My eyes snapped up to meet hers. "You've heard about Will, then, I guess."

Mrs. Stevens looked away and started rearranging the papers on her desk. "Oh, Sergeant Davis is nothing but thorough. He called me at home, despite the fact that I have an unlisted number. We are talking about the military, though, so that wouldn't stop them. The sergeant said Will's parents were discussing his involvement, but the military had complete confidence he'd join the team full-time." She shook her head. "I can't say I'm surprised to hear he's involved, too, but it worries me a great deal. I've been a principal through two wars. Losing students in combat is a terrible thing, even if they graduated years before."

I sank down in my chair, flooded with memories I couldn't escape. "Yeah, it is a terrible thing."

My pain, still raw, must've been audible because Mrs. Stevens met my gaze again, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I want you and Mr. Cruessan to know that I care what happens to you. And I'm glad you're home safe."

I sat back and regarded Mrs. Stevens. With her iron-grey hair, "I'm watching you" expression and stout body, she looked more like a prison matron than a principal. But I'd come to understand she had to be hard on the outside to do her job wellajust like me.

The silence stretched between us, until I finally said, "Thank you, ma'am."

I received one more brief smile before Mrs. Stevens' brisk attitude returned. "Right, then. I received your records from the online tutoring service and you've more than kept up with your classes, so you should find it pretty easy to return to your schedule. Mr. Preston is expecting you this morning. Off you go."

I stood, feeling like I could face the day. As I turned to leave, Mrs. Stevens said, "I hope you get to stay for a while."

"Until late March, most likely," I answered.

"Well," Mrs. Stevens said, "Better than nothing."

I sure hoped so.

"Monsters." Penn's face had turned this interesting shade of green. "They're real?"

"Yes," I said.

She turned to Will. "And now you have to hunt them, just like Matt, because a knife picked you."

"Yes," Will said.

"Oh." Penn started at her lunch tray for a long moment. "Well, I have this uncle. He lived in a little town in eastern Oklahoma and was convinced Bigfoot was raiding his barn. Kept going on about how his chickens had gone missing."

She fell silent and Will and I exchanged glances. We'd seen this kind of reaction before; when Ella's sister, Alyssa, had found out monsters were real, she had passed out cold. Was Mighty Penn about to crack? Or would she tell us she thought we were full of crap?

Then Penn burst out laughing.

Yeah, not what I thought she'd do.

"The joke's on us, Uncle Ernie!" Penn crowed. "It wasn't a coyote after all!"

"Doesathat mean you believe me?" Will asked, shooting me a freaked out look.

"Of course I believe you!" Penn dabbed at her eyes. "Honey, I saw a tornado eat my best friend's neighborhood four year ago. That thing took out all the houses in her end of the subdivision. If monsters aren't real, how do you explain something like that?"

"I can't," Will said.

"What Ella told me at Christmas, about you two being a couple of heroes? That makes more sense now," Penn said. "I thought she was just exaggerating to make a point, but she was right."

Ella called us heroes? The tension in my shoulders released; it sucked being lonely, but knowing that helped. "We do what we can. Sometimes it's enough. Sometimes it isn't."

"Yeah," Will mumbled. "Sometimes it's not nearly enough."

Penn frowned and put her hand on Will's cheek. "Matt, can you excuse us a minute? I think my boy here needs to talk to me."

I left them and threw what was left of my lunch in the trash. When I looked back, Will had his head on her shoulder and she had wrapped her arms around him.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and slunk out of the cafeteria.

It sucked being lonely.

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

The next six weeks dragged by in a wintery blur, until I reached my seventeenth birthday. February tenth was a Thursday and we had a long weekend coming up because of a teacher training day. After the stress of getting back into a school routine, I decided to have a little fun over the break. Will and I planned to go snowboarding on Saturday, just the two of us, and Mom was taking me out to dinner tonight. Mamie was even skipping her Friday classes to come home to join us.

While this had the makings of a decent birthday, I didn't get my hopes up; my luck usually didn't hold. Almost like nature wanted to prove my point, the sky looked stormy to the west when I drove to school, and the wind had kicked up in a raw and bitter gale. I about froze my butt off walking in from the parking lot.

To my surprise, the day passed without fanfare, except for one thing. Ella stared at me every time I passed her in the hall, finally stopping me after our history class. "Happy Birthday," she said. Then she stood there, like she wanted to say more, but ended up giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before running down the hall, blushing like crazy.

Mom's car wasn't in the garage when I got home. She'd been in Helena since Tuesday for that big trial, but closing arguments had been this morning. She should've been home by now.

I checked my phone and she'd left a message, so I called her back.

"Sweetheart, how's the weather there?" she asked.

I looked out the kitchen window. The snow had drifted up against the fence in places and the clouds hung heavy and low. "Looks like it might storm any minute. Why?"

"Helena's being hit by a blizzard. The police are closing the highways, so I'm stuck. The news says it's moving your way, which means Mamie can't come home either. I'm just sick about it, honey. I hate the idea of you being alone on your birthday."

Mom sounded really upset, but, honestly, it wasn't that big a thing to me. While I'd miss them both, it wasn't like we couldn't do dinner together next weekend. "Mom, it's okay. I'll just heat up a pizza and watch a movie in front of the fireplace. I'm tired anyway. Being stuck inside actually sounds kinda good."

Mom sighed. "All right." Her voice was quiet and worried. "The news says the blizzard should be through Helena in a few hours before pushing into Billings overnight. It's supposed to let up some before it gets to you, so with a little luck, the plows will clear a path and I'll be home late tomorrow. Get some rest."

No sooner than I'd hit end, my phone rang. "Dude, there's a blizzard coming," Will said. "Want to come over? Millicent made a crap-load of food before she left for her cruise yesterday, and my parents are stuck in Hawaii until tomorrow because of the weather. We'll have the place all to ourselves."

"Hey, where are you hiding the glasses, Giant Will?" a girl called in the background. "This kitchen is the size of my house!"

Penn.

"Will, if you think I'm coming over to your house when you have the mansion to yourself and Penn's there, you're insane."

"Did your mom make it back?"

I sighed. "No, Mom got stuck in Helena.

He pressed the issue. "It's your birthday, man. You don't need to be alone, so come over."

"I'm not gate-crashing, not when you have a girl at your place."

"Penn doesn't mind. I asked her!" Will sounded desperate.

I started laughing. "No way. I am not coming over. I'm staying home, making a fire and eating a frozen pizza. Now go pay some attention to Penn before she gets pissed and leaves."

Will was still spluttering when I hung up on him, but it was for his own good. He was having enough trouble adjusting to being a wielder, what with his mother giving him the silent treatment and his dad still on the fence about the whole deal, so whatever Penn wanted to do with him was his business, and fine with me.

Shaking my head, I set four logs in the fireplacea"if I was making a fire, it would be a fire and not ambiance. While it got going, I nuked a frozen supreme pizza and grabbed two sodas and a box of Chips Ahoy. Feast set, I hit the sofa.

For the first hour, I righteously enjoyed myself but after the pizza and cookies were gone and SportsCenter was over, the house started to feel empty. Not sure why I was even still awake, I crept upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. The idea of napping on the couch in front of the fire had some appeal, so I threw on flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, picked up my pillow and a fleece blanket and went downstairs to crash out.

I tossed and turned a while, trying to get comfortable. While I'd wanted to be left alone, I missed Mom and Mamie. Uncle Mike, too. But that wasn't why I was restless, not really. As much as I hated to admit it, I missed Ella more than anyone else. It was like a physical ache, the way I needed to have her in my life again. I didn't know if I could do it, but maybe we could be friends. She got me in a way that few people did.

But I knew, deep down, we could never be just friends. The draw on my heart was too strong and Tink would never allow me to be as close to Ella as I wanted.

A loud banging startled me out of my doze and I sat up, annoyed. Someone was pounding the crap out of the front door and I could think of only one person who would beat down my door during a blizzard. I climbed off the couch, grumbling, "Will! If that's you, man, I'm gonna kick your ass."