His eyes went, involuntarily, to the hallway — to the closed door of Owen’s room, behind which, they all knew, a thirteen-year-old was listening to every word.

“Vanessa left me,” he said finally. “Three weeks ago.” He drew a breath. “But that’s not even the worst of it. There’s something else I found out after she went. Something none of you know.”

Claire held his eyes and said nothing, and waited.

And just as Jason opened his mouth to say it, the door down the hall opened, and Owen stepped out.

Chapter 9 — What He Took

Owen stood in the doorway with his long sweater sleeves pulled down over his hands, and he had, Claire noticed, left the door open behind him — a clear way back to his room, an exit kept ready.

He had learned to do that too, in the last eight months.