Mattie had offered Alyssa her bed, but she didn't want to intrude any more than she already was. Her mind raced about what to do about her mother. She didn't want to move out yet, but she didn't want to put up with Cody either. Sure, she'd only be leaving a few months before she planned to, but she was scared. What if she began to get along with the squad again? Did she want to? Could she still be friends with Mattie if she did? Then there was Jake. Tall, handsome, sweet, incredibly kind, Jake. She liked him a lot, but he was even busier than she was and then there was his father. “Maybe those things don't matter,” Alyssa sighed rolling over onto her back, “Maybe we just have to keep going.” When Alyssa finally fell asleep she dreamed that she was running a race against the other girls on her squad. She ran past person after person, each of them acting weird. Jake's father was doing a weird dance that looked to be a one person tango, her mother was dressed in mourning clothes singing opera, Mattie was attempting to cheer, but failing miserably.
