Mrs. Atkins frown deepened.

"I don't think Jake would skip without reason. From what I heard from my sons, Jake was called to the counselor's office and then he never came back. It's strange they would mark him truant when they were the ones to see him last.

"

The deputy looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"You saw the Counselor last before leaving school?

" I nodded.

"Did they give you any expressive approval to leave the school?

" I shook my head no. He sighed.

"Then you're still on the hook.

"

"Wait just a moment.

" Mrs. Atkins glared at him. Then she knelt down beside me.

"Jake, you're not in any trouble. Not with me. Not with the school. And not with the police. So can you tell me why you suddenly ran off?

"

I shifted uncomfortably, but then recalled Mrs. Golladay's words about fidgeting so I stopped and shivered.

"What is it? Want me to get Wayne here? Will you tell him? Or Noah? Dr. Moore?

" Mrs. Atkins started to panic. For the first time in three weeks, she looked as anxious as I felt.

I took a deep breath and and let it out. Dr. Moore said I should push myself out of my comfort zone a little bit a day. And since I won't be making it to baseball practice, I might as well speak to Mrs. Atkins.

"I got scared.

"

"I thought he was a mute.

" The officer stated almost right away.

Mrs. Atkins eyes narrowed and she immediately stood back up. She faced the cop, and leaned over him with her massive height.

"Jake has selective mutism. Look. It. Up.

" She glared at him.

"I will be taking him home now. Write him up all you want. Give him the warning. Give me the warning. Hell, give me the fine. But I assure you, I'll be back to file the complaint against the school. If Jake got scared, then I can only imagine what that so-called Counselor has done.

" She whipped her hair into his face and lightly smiled down at me.

"Let's go home, Jake. We're done here.

"

Home. Their home. I like their home and I like how they shared it with me. I got up and we walked out of the department, side by side. She opened up the passenger door for me and I got in, then she got in on the drivers side. Usually I would feel nervous sitting so close to Mrs. Atkins, but today it felt like a comfort.

"Wayne and Dr. Moore are at the house, waiting.

" Mrs. Atkins told me as she navigated the streets.

"I gave them a call after I got the call from the police station. What a scare.

" She let out a puff of air.

"We have to get you a cell phone. We can pre-program everyone's number and maybe also set up the gps so we can easily find you.

" I let her rant on about safety of having a phone and how it would bring her peace of mind. Apparently this really shook her up and that made me feel guilty.

I had other options. Thinking back, I could have waited for Noah at his locker. Or tell the twins what was wrong and they could have called their parents for me. Or i could have just gone down to the field and waited for one of the coaches or something. I really was middle headed.

"I'm sorry.

" I blurted out.

Mrs. Atkins hit the brakes and the shoulder belts kept us in place. She turned to me.

"What? What's wrong?

"

I felt the heat rush to my face and lowered my eyes.

"I acted on impulse. Noah told me to face problems head on, but I ran. Again.

"

"Oh, honey. That's not a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to rely on instincts. If your intuition told you to get out and get away, then trust that feeling.

" Mrs. Atkins looked upset.

"We can talk this out with Wayne and Dr. Moore.

"

I nodded and she began to drive again. She got us back to the house and I saw a few cars on the street, parked outside their house. I looked back at her, slightly confused on why the street is so busy.

"They were worried about you too.

" She smiled, got out and went to the house.

I slowly followed her steps, trying to think of who she meant. Who else would be worried? Mr. Duncan? Noah? Maybe the twins and Zeke? I walked in and was shocked to see the whole baseball team squeezed in the living room.

"Jake!

" Noah called out first. He ran to me and pulled me into a hug like I would disappear in front of him.

"Jake!

"

"Bambi!

"

"Where'd ya go kid?

" The other guys got up and clambered over, crowding me.

"Back it up.

" Noah held onto me defensively.

"Jake needs space. He's just a kid okay?

"

"You're just a kid!

" Dave slapped him upside the head.

"And you're the one crowding him!

" Kyle accused.

Noah ignored them and held me at arms distance. He looked me up and down, checking for something.

"Good. You're still in one piece. Mom called dad and said she was picking you up from the police station so I was worried you would get beat up.

"

Why would I get beaten up?

"So what happened?

"

"How did you even end up at the police station?

"

"C'mon Jake. Tell us!

"

The lot of them clamored around asking for answers, but I didn't know where to start.

Three loud claps came from the entryway to the dining room. They quieted down and faced the man who commanded their attention. Zeke stood by Coach Wilcox and Mr. Miller.

"We're leaving. Practice will resume at the field down the street. Jake has to stay here and give an explanation to our parents.

"

The team sighed and started to move to the door.

"After practice, we'll come back here for pizza and Jake will have answers for us by then, I'm sure.

" Zeke added on, perking the team up. They left with a pep in their step and moved out with speed. Zeke and the coaches brought up the rear.

Zeke grabbed Noah's collar and pulled him away from me.

"Let's go. You too. You'll see him in a couple of hours.

"

Noah struggled.

"You don't know that for sure. What if he runs again? I'm staying here.

"

Zeke looked to Coach. Coach sighed.

"You know the rules Noah. If you skip practice, then I won't start you in the next game.

"

"That's fine by me.

" Noah stood firm and moved to my side.

"Jake isn't playing either. Might as well keep him company.

"

Zeke shook his head in dismay.

"Whatever. Get to the kitchen. They're waiting for you, Jake.

" He put his hand on my shoulder.

"Next time, run to me. Whatever it is, I'm sure I could deal with it.

"

I thought of Mrs. Golladay's blackmail comment. And gave Zeke a tight smile. The three of them moved on out and Noah dragged me to the kitchen.

Mr. and Mrs. Atkins day on either side of Dr. Moore. They had paperwork spread out and Dr. Moore held his notepad.

We sat across from them.

Dr. Moore pushed up his glasses and looked at me.

"Where do you want to start, Jake?

"