Page 258

Nate opened the passenger door and moved his drill off the seat.

“There. All yours.”

Leo climbed in while Nate put the drill behind the seat. His mother had gone home, and he’d called Walt, who had told them to come over whenever they liked. Leo had been ready to leave ever since, following Nate around while he found his keys and put away the things his mother had left on the kitchen table.

Now he was sitting in the truck, looking at Nate expectantly. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah.” Nate shut the door and went around to the driver’s side. When he got in, Leo reached over to rest a hand on his knee.

It was going to take a while to get used to this.

A long while, hopefully.

Nate smiled at Leo and started the engine.

When they’d just about reached the end of the drive, Leo leaned forward. “Stop here.”

Nate brought the truck to a halt. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to get out and cross the line.”

For a moment, Nate didn’t understand. Then he looked at the road. “Oh.”

He’d been thinking about getting to Walt’s, about seeing his face when he heard that Leo remembered everything. He hadn’t thought much about the stretch of gravel between the house and the road.

But of course this meant a lot more to Leo than it did to him.

Nate put the truck in park and switched off the engine. By the time he’d climbed out of the vehicle, Leo was standing a few feet ahead of it.

“Where is it?” Nate asked, coming to join him.

“Just there.”

Nate followed Leo’s gaze to a patch of grass beside the drive. Previously the boundary of Leo’s world.

“I used to come down here,” Leo said. “Sometimes.”

Nate remembered him on the porch, watching the truck pull away. He’d always thought Leo went back inside afterward. It hadn’t occurred to him that he might follow as far as he could.

He reached for Leo’s hand.

Leo took it, then looked at him. “Let me try.”

Nate let go.

He stayed close while Leo walked toward the road. A few paces short of it, Leo slowed, looking down. Nate found himself holding his breath.

It was stupid. They’d done the binding. His mother had checked it before she left. Leo himself had told them he could no longer feel the house holding him.

Nate still wanted to see him take the next step.

Leo did.

He went right on walking, out onto the grassy shoulder, then turned to look behind him.

Nate couldn’t have said exactly when he started smiling. By the time Leo looked at him, his face hurt.

“Nothing,” Leo said.