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“Char, you need to get out of the house more,” Sawyer admonished. “Go out with Ashley. She’s been calling you, and you keep turning her down. What’s the deal?”

“They’re all into boys.” Charlotte touched the napkin to her lips. “I’m fine if they want to date boys, but they’re sleeping with them. We’re only fifteen, for goodness sake.”

Rylie shuddered. Really, she never thought to have ‘the talk’ with either Sawyer or Charlotte. She had so fucked up.

“Do you two know about birth control?” Rylie asked tentatively.

“Do you?” Sawyer shot back.

“Sure she does. Don’t you remember her with Roger? She dated him for almost a year, and she didn’t get pregnant,” Charlotte said. Rylie stared at her aghast.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Sawyer countered.

“You know they slept together, she tried to hide it, but she spent the night over at his house, so I’m sure they were having sex,” Char explained to Sawyer patiently. “Therefore, she was using birth control effectively.” Rylie pushed her plate aside and hit her head against the table.

“You didn’t see the pregnancy test she threw away in the bathroom trash,” Sawyer disagreed. “Obviously, Rylie had some issues with her birth control.” Rylie hit her head against the table again and moaned.

“I’m sure she would do better now,” Char said soothingly as she patted Rylie’s back.

“Maybe.” Sawyer tapped Rylie on her head. “So are you on the pill?”

“You mean you haven’t checked the bathroom shelves?” Rylie asked.

“I don’t think there’s been anyone since Roger,” Charlotte said. “Which is good, he was way too old and a little creepy.”

“She was looking for a father figure,” Sawyer said as he went back to shoveling food into his mouth.

“Enough!” Rylie stood up. “Condoms. You need to use condoms. We don’t need any babies. The house is too small. Yes, Roger was way too old.”

She stalked down the hallway to Georgie’s room.

“Rylie, look, Ferris wheels,” he said pointing to his iPad. She sat down on the bed beside the little boy, who meant the world to her, and looked at the Ferris wheel on the screen. She waited to see if he was in the mood to be touched again, or if he wasn’t. Georgie might be only seven years old, but it was important to respect his boundaries, and even though she so wanted to hold him in her lap, she needed to see if it was what he wanted.

He snuggled up to her side, still enthralled with the video. Score one for Team Rylie. She picked him up and settled him in her arms. It took another twenty minutes before the video she had created came to an end.

“Do you want to watch it again, Georgie, or do you want to play Jenga?” She loved it when she could get him to interact. He shook his head.

“Words, Georgie.” He shook his head again. She didn’t say anything. He knew the rules. She waited.

Finally, he said, “Jenga.”

“That sounds like fun.” She set him on the floor, and got down with him. She pulled the game out from under his bed. Rylie let him open the box and watched as he put everything together just to his liking.

“Who starts?”

“Me,” he said barely looking into her eyes, but he did look up. She grinned.

“Did you miss me, Georgie?”

“You should stay. I want you to stay with me forever. Like the stars stay in the sky, except for the falling ones.” He pulled out the first piece. “I don’t like things that fall. I don’t want you to fall. You do scary things, Rylie.” It always amazed her when he spoke in full sentences. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it was often profound. Like now.

She looked at him. Georgie once again saw things he shouldn’t be able to, it was like he was on a different plane with his autism that made him a little more sensitive, more in-tune with other things.

“I’m safe, Georgie, you don’t have to worry about me.” This time, he did look at her directly.

“Don’t lie. Lying is bad.”

Fuck. Were all of the kids going to call her on her shit today? Was it ‘Pick on Rylie Day’ and she just hadn’t been told? Her stomach grumbled, and she felt the effect of the cheese on the eggs. Yep, it was definitely ‘Pick on Rylie Day.’