Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles Read Free Book Online

happened to you?" Damon asks Caleb as he gestures to the dried blood now caked on Caleb's hand. Damon is totally confused.
    "One of the beds tipped over last night," Erin chimes in. "Caleb caught it before it crashed on Maggie and me."
    I think the rest of us are shocked Erin actually spokeshe's been so quiet.
    "Lenny tipped the bed," Trish says. "On purpose."
    Lenny sneers at Trish. "Do you know what they do in jail to people who snitch?"
    "Lenny, I won't tolerate threats so knock it off. Follow me to the infirmary. Caleb, you too. I want your hand checked out. The rest of you, pack up the van and go to breakfast. The dining hall is the big building by the front office."
    When we're all ready, Damon, Lenny and Caleb head for the infirmary while the rest do as instructed. The dining hall is a huge building with rows of picnic tables. At the end of the room, teens line up with trays and choose their food.
    "So what's the real story with you and Caleb?" Matt asks me as we join the line.
    I wonder how much I should reveal. "It's super-complicated." I grab a carton of milk and look at Matt. "Need help?" I ask when he picks up a tray and balances it on his arm.
    "I got it," he says.
    I really admire Matt for that.
    I watch him balance his tray steadily on his functional arm while we pick our breakfasts and head to one of the tables to eat.
    "Nice way to avoid the question about Caleb, Maggie."
    "I'm not avoiding it," I tell him.
    He raises an eyebrow, obviously not convinced.
    Trish and Erin sit down opposite us. What should I say? How much should I tell Matt? This trip is supposed to be about not holding back and letting it all out. Caleb hasn't been truthful with me or anyone else ... and I feel like it's eating away at him. I won't let it eat at me.
    I turn to Matt. "Caleb and I were involved after he was released from juvie."
    Wow
    I watch Matt's reaction go from shocked to curious. The accident and the consequences connect me and Caleb forever, whether we want it to or not. But Matt doesn't know the entire story. Damon, the guy who's supposed to know everything about each Re-START participant, doesn't even know the entire story.
    "What did he go to juvie for?" Matt asks.
    "Umm..." I take a second to figure out what to say, how to put it into words.
    "Tell him, Maggie," Caleb says, sticking his head between us. "Spill it." Before I can even answer, Caleb snaps, "For hitting Maggie while driving drunk."
    Matt's mouth opens wide in shock. "Holy shit. For real?"
    "For real. Right, Maggie?" Caleb narrows his eyes at me as if I betrayed him. "Why don't we announce it to the entire room?"
    No.
    "Come on, Mags. Be adventurous."
    "You're not serious," I say.
    He clears his throat. "Watch me."
     

SEVEN

Caleb
    wasn't really gonna tell everyone in this damn place that I'd gone to juvie, but seeing Maggie on this let's-shareabsolutely-everything kick pisses me off. This Re-START program is a bunch of crap. They think talking about the accident will miraculously fix everything. I have news for Damon and everyone else involved. Nothing will fix my shitty life. Nothing will erase the past two years. Nothing will change the fact that I've got no friends or family left. I'm just living ... surviving, really.
    Finding Maggie in an intense conversation with Matt made me want to grab the guy's shirt and pick a fight with him. The guy is cool, unlike that tool Lenny, but when I moved in closer and found Maggie confiding in him, my veins fired up.
    I scan the room and eye a bullhorn by the front door.
    "Caleb, don't," Maggie says.
    I ignore her as I cross the room and pick up the bullhorn. I click the siren switch. An obnoxiously loud, piercing shriek echoes throughout the building-a good thing, because everyone immediately has their attention focused on me.
    I bring the bullhorn to my lips. "I've got something to say," I bellow into the mouthpiece.
    Damon is standing in line with a tray full of food. I expect him to run up to me and grab the