Adam glanced at his watch. 4:34 PM.
Coach Henry's whistle cut across the school track, where the cross-country team was finishing interval work.
"Costanza. That's enough."
Adam slowed from a jog and turned toward him.
"I can finish."
Henry folded his arms. "You're shortening your stride."
Adam glanced down at himself as if that might somehow prove otherwise.
"I'm fine."
"You took a beating at lunch. If you're compensating now, you're done for today." Henry pointed toward the athletic building. "Walk it off. Get changed."
Adam considered arguing, a twitch in his cheek.
Henry raised an eyebrow.
"Understood." Adam gave up.
Daryl caught up with him near the edge of the track. He had been watching Adam for most of practice, occasionally mouthing, You okay?
Adam had nodded every time.
Physically, he was fine. Mentally, he was preparing for 5 PM.
Grigori had said almost nothing at school. Adam knew that wouldn't last.
Then there was the thought of Lena.
Adam pulled out his phone as they headed toward the athletic building and opened her contact.
He typed a message.
Parking lot. Dad's picking us up at 5.
The typing indicator appeared almost immediately.
Adam waited.
Thirty seconds.
Oh, you're SO screwed, huh?
A second message followed.
Wonder what Mom's going to say.
Adam sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
After changing, he and Daryl stepped back into the hallway leading from the athletic wing.
"Um... Adam?"
He knew the voice.
Hannah Martin stood several feet away, clutching both straps of her backpack.
Adam stopped. "What is it?"
Hannah opened her mouth then closed it.
21 seconds passed. Adam counted.
"You okay?" she finally asked.
"Yes."
She looked briefly at his bruised face, then away. "Okay. Good. I just... wanted to make sure."
Adam frowned. "Why?"
Daryl made a small sound beside him that might have been a cough.
Hannah's face reddened. "No reason… I have to meet Lena now..."
She turned and hurried down the hall.
Adam watched her go. "That was strange."
Daryl stared at him for a moment. "Sure, man. Strange."
Adam looked at him.
Daryl shook his head. "Never mind.. You good, though?"
"Yes."
"Cool." Daryl hooked an arm over Adam's shoulders. "Do me a favor and let me walk with you for a bit. Maybe some of your fame will rub off on me."
Adam didn't respond, but he didn't move away either.
Daryl grinned. "Great. Where are we going?"
"Lena."
Adam and Daryl found Lena near the senior wing with Kendra, Kelly, Anna, and Hannah. They were discussing the fight, then Hannah's birthday, then the fight again.
Kendra was reenacting the trash can moment with both hands.
"He didn't throw Carter into it," Lena said.
"Marcus says Carter went clear over it," Kelly replied.
"Marcus also says Adam broke his wrist."
"He didn't," Lena said. "Why are you even asking? You were there!"
"We were busy holding you back to see much." Anna responded.
Kendra spotted Adam approaching. "Speaking of the menace."
Students nearby started looking too. Whispers followed him across the courtyard.
He ignored them.
Hannah glanced at him and then quickly away. Again.
Kendra looked Adam over when he reached them. "Jesus. You look awful."
"I meant that affectionately," she added when he didn't answer.
Lena stood. "Dad's picking us up. We should go."
"Oh, you're really screwed, aren't you?" Kendra asked.
Adam stayed silent.
"And I still want the real story," Kendra added.
"No."
"I wasn't asking you."
"Still no."
Lena caught him by the sleeve and pulled him away before Kendra could answer.
Behind them, Daryl called, "Bye, Adam!" loudly enough to turn several heads.
Adam stopped.
Lena tugged harder. "Keep walking."
"I don't like your friends," he said, walking alongside her.
"Yes, you do."
"I tolerate Kendra."
Lena chuckled, "For you, that's basically love."
Adam didn't dignify that with an answer.
The campus had thinned considerably. Most of the regular buses were long gone; the students still around were coming out of practices, clubs, and late activities.
"So what really happened?" Lena asked once they were out of earshot. "And where did you learn to do that?"
"Carter got suspended. I got a disciplinary report."
"I meant at the fight, Adam..."
Adam glanced at her. "He kept trying to start a fight. I tried to leave."
"I saw that part."
"Then he threatened you."
Lena was quiet for a moment. "And that's when you stopped holding back."
Adam said nothing, kept his eyes forward.
Her expression shifted, less angry now and more thoughtful.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Lena repeated.
"Dad."
Lena stopped walking. "Dad taught you?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
Adam paused. "A while."
Her eyebrows drew together. "You never told me."
"There was no reason to."
"I thought we were close," she said, mouth twisting into a pout.
"We are."
"That's not what I mean." Lena studied him. "I've known you your whole life, Adam. Yesterday, I would've sworn I knew what you could and couldn't do."
A convenient, ordinary answer came to him immediately, something that would close the subject. Adam rejected it before it reached his mouth.
Lena was not someone he wanted to manage with an excuse.
The fact that the instinct had come so easily bothered him.
"I'm still me," he said.
Lena stared at him for another second.
Then she stepped forward and hugged him carefully, avoiding his bruised side.
"I know."
Adam stiffened at first, then let himself relax.
She pulled back. "I'm still mad at you."
"Understood."
"And don't think this means I'm defending you from Mom."
"I wasn't expecting you to."
"Dad, maybe," Lena added. "Mom? You're on your own."
Adam nodded. That sounded fair.
They continued toward the parking lot together.
By the time they reached the parking lot, Adam's watch read 4:58 PM.
Grigori was already waiting beside their car, arms crossed.
When his eyes swept across Adam, there was no reaction.
When his eyes met Lena's, he smiled.
The drive home was quiet for Adam. Lena filled the car with talk about school while Grigori listened and laughed in the right places.
With Lena, he was Dad again. Adam sat in the back and occasionally caught Grigori watching him in the rearview mirror, giving nothing away.
He counted the minutes until they reached home.
Sarah took one look at him when he stepped through the door.
"Adam. What happened to your face?"
She crossed the room before he could answer and caught his chin gently, turning his face toward the light.
"I'm fine, Mom," Adam said, attempting to swat off the hand, but gave up.
"You do not look fine."
"There was a fight," Grigori said as he set his keys down. "Carter Phillips started it. Adam tried to walk away."
Sarah looked from Grigori to Adam.
Grigori continued. "He also hit Carter once after Carter was already under control."
Adam looked away.
Sarah noticed. "Why wasn't I called?"
"Henry called me directly," Grigori said. "I was already at the school before administration finished with them."
"And you didn't think to call me?"
"I thought this would be better explained in person."
Sarah gave him a look that suggested the discussion was not over.
Then she turned back to Adam and inspected his split lip and the bruising along his cheek and side.
"You have never been in trouble at school before."
"I didn't start it."
"I know." Her voice softened for half a second. "That is not the part I'm upset about."
Adam said nothing.
Sarah folded her arms. "One week."
Adam blinked. "What?"
"You heard me. Grounded, one week, no arguments."
Adam considered that. He went to school. He went to practice. He came home. Occasionally Grigori or Aaron dragged him somewhere for a reason.
"What am I grounded from?"
Lena covered her mouth, holding out a laugh.
Sarah stared at him. The look Sarah gave him answered that question.
"Anything that isn't school or practice. Otherwise, you're home," she said.
That changed very little. That's basically all Adam did anyway.
"Understood."
A car pulled up outside before Sarah could add anything else.
The same one Adam had seen that morning.
Neil climbed out first in a button-down shirt and slacks. Jack followed, dressed neatly as usual, his glasses secured by the familiar strap.
Grigori went to meet them at the door, his expression warming almost immediately as he asked how they were settling in.
Adam watched him for a moment. Apparently the other conversation would have to wait.
Jack stepped inside and noticed Adam's face almost immediately. His eyes widened slightly.
"You alright, man?"
"Yeah."
Jack nodded. "Okay."
They stood there in silence.
The silence suited both of them.
"Adam," Sarah called from the kitchen, "don't just stand there. Welcome Jack in and help me with the dishes. Aaron's already out back with the grill."
Adam looked at Jack.
"Welcome back. Come in."
The corner of Jack's mouth twitched.
"You haven't changed much," Adam said.
Jack chuckled. "Neither have you."
At 5:31 PM, Adam joined Aaron at the grill. Aaron took one look at his bruised face and side. Adam gave the smallest shake of his head.
"Later."
Aaron nodded and went back to the venison.
"Where'd you get it?" Adam asked.
"I hunted it."
"Does Mom know?"
"She knows Dan gave me the cooler."
Adam looked at him.
Aaron shrugged. "Close enough, right?"
They finished dinner the way they usually worked: Adam tracking sequence and timing, Aaron adjusting by feel whenever the grill flared or ran hot.
Through the glass door, Jack watched with the quiet focus he used whenever something caught his interest. A moment later he stepped outside holding the digital meat thermometer.
"This is broken."
Aaron glanced at it. "Then don't use it."
"That doesn't make it less broken. I can't stand seeing stuff like this."
Jack opened the battery compartment, produced a small multitool, and bent the contact back into place. The display lit.
Aaron took it. "Whoa. You're like a genius huh?"
Jack shrugged. "Not really. I just really like fixing stuff."
Sarah called from inside, "If the three of you are done conducting surgery on my kitchen equipment, bring the food in."
Neil laughed from the dining room.
By the time everyone sat down, the table was crowded enough that Sarah had brought out the folding chair from the hall closet.
Grigori sat at one end. Sarah took the chair beside him. Neil sat across from her, with Jack beside him. Lena claimed the seat nearest the potatoes before anyone else could. Aaron sat opposite her.
Adam ended up between Aaron and Jack.
Sarah looked over the spread and smiled. "This turned out nice."
The Bernards settled into the room with almost no effort. Sarah fussed over Jack's plate, Lena kept pulling him into conversations, and Neil and Grigori talked as if the four years apart had been an inconvenient pause.
Aaron fit differently. He had never known the Bernards before today, yet Neil already spoke to him like there was room for him too. They even talked about how Aaron fleeced Jack while helping him unpack back at his home.
Adam liked it, this atmosphere. Safe, and warm.
Sarah reached for the salad bowl. "So when are you two completely moved back into the old house?"
Neil and Jack exchanged a look.
Jack returned to his food.
Neil cleared his throat. "Jack already is."
Sarah waited.
Neil took a drink of water. "I'm not living there."
Lena stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth.
"What?"
Sarah frowned. "What do you mean you're not living there?"
"I've got temporary lodging through the city. Jack's staying at the house."
"By himself?" Sarah asked.
"For now, yes."
Sarah stared at him.
Neil raised one hand. "Before you say anything-"
"You're leaving him in that whole house alone?" Sarah said, voice raised a bit higher than usual.
"I'm teaching him independence."
Jack spoke without looking up. "Apparently."
Neil gave him a look. "Come now, you agreed."
"I accepted the situation. Not that I had a choice."
Grigori chuckled quietly.
Sarah did not. "Neil…"
"He'll be fine. I'm covering the house, utilities, groceries, everything important. I'm still in Pinewood. I'm not dropping him in the woods and wishing him luck."
Aaron looked up at that.
Neil noticed. "No offense."
"None taken," Aaron shrugged.
Jack adjusted his glasses. "I can manage a house."
Sarah's expression softened slightly when she looked at him. "I know you can, sweetheart. That doesn't mean you have to prove it every day."
Jack went quiet. Neil did too.
For a moment, Adam thought he saw something pass between them that neither wanted to explain at the table.
Grigori broke the silence.
"Well, he's close enough." He gestured vaguely toward the neighboring streets. "If something goes wrong, he has us."
"Exactly," Neil said. "That's the whole arrangement."
Sarah pointed her fork at Jack. "You are eating here whenever you want. I mean that. If you burn something, run out of groceries, get sick, get lonely, whatever. You come over."
Jack blinked. "I don't think loneliness requires food."
"It does in this house," Lena said.
Aaron nodded solemnly. "She's right."
Sarah smiled. "See?"
Jack looked around the table.
Then he nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
Neil leaned toward Grigori. "There. Independence with logistical support."
Grigori shook his head. "That sounds like cheating."
"Logistics is never cheating."
Something about the way Neil said it made Grigori grin.
Adam noticed.
An old saying or just something between them during their army days, maybe. He couldn't tell.
Dinner continued.
Conversation drifted to Jack's enrollment and then, inevitably, to Aaron's refusal to enroll at all.
For a little while, everything felt ordinary.
Adam almost forgot about the bruising in his ribs, that half the school had a video of him fighting, and he almost forgot Grigori still owed him a private conversation.
Then Grigori stopped eating.
It was subtle enough that Sarah did not notice immediately.
Adam did. So did Aaron.
Grigori set his fork down beside his plate.
Neil's expression changed a moment later.
The laughter around the table faded on its own.
Grigori looked first at Sarah. Then Lena.
"There's something I need to tell you."
Sarah's smile disappeared. "What is it?"
Grigori rested both hands on the table.
"I'm leaving in two days."
Lena's expression fell.
Sarah went very still beside Grigori.
Across the table, Jack stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth. Neil's smile disappeared, but otherwise he barely moved.
Jack looked surprised.
Neil didn't. Or at least, not very.
He and Aaron had already heard the news that morning at the docks. Somehow, hearing Grigori say it here felt different.
The docks had been quiet. Just the three of them, the water, and an announcement delivered like another piece of information they were expected to process.
This was the dinner table.
His mother was sitting beside Grigori.
Lena was staring at him.
Sarah's eyes moved from Grigori to Adam, then to Aaron.
"You two knew, didn't you?"
Aaron slowly set his fork down, making a sound with the ceramic.
Adam nodded once.
"I told them this morning," Grigori said.
Lena looked at Adam. "You knew all day?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"Dad said he would."
"That is not an answer and you know it."
"It is technically an answer," Jack said.
Everyone looked at him.
Jack lowered his eyes back to his plate. "Not a good one. But it is one."
For half a second, Lena looked like she might laugh.
Sarah turned back to Grigori. "How long?"
Grigori paused. "I don't know yet."
Lena leaned back in her chair. "Of course you don't."
"Lena."
"No, it's always that." Her voice was controlled, but only barely. "Three days. A week. Two weeks. And every time nobody knows when you're actually coming home."
Grigori didn't interrupt her.
Neil glanced toward Jack, then back to the Costanzas. "Sarah, if this is something you'd rather talk about privately, we can head out."
Sarah shook her head immediately.
"No. Stay."
Neil hesitated.
"You're family," she added.
Something in his face softened.
Jack looked down at his plate again.
Neil nodded. "Alright."
Sarah folded her hands together. "Where are they sending you?"
"Texas."
Adam saw Lena's eyebrows rise.
"At least you know that part."
Grigori accepted the hit without reacting.
Sarah continued. "Another training detail?"
"The usual kind, yes."
"What are you training?" Lena asked.
"Mail carriers."
She stared at him. "You're serious."
"Afraid so."
Aaron lowered his head toward his plate.
Adam knew exactly why.
Mailmen need training?
He could still hear Aaron asking the same thing that morning.
Grigori cleared his throat. "They need experienced carriers helping with a training program. I've done temporary details before."
Sarah's expression said that last part did not improve matters.
"When did you find out?" she asked.
"This morning."
"And you leave in two days."
"That's right."
Lena pushed her plate back a few inches. "Tell them no."
Grigori was quiet for a moment.
Adam watched his hands.
They rested flat against the table. Relaxed. Deliberate.
The same way Grigori kept them when he wanted everyone else to believe he was calmer than he actually was.
"I can't do that," Grigori said.
"Why?"
"It's part of my job."
"You deliver mail.."
Adam lowered his gaze.
Aaron did the same.
Jack looked from Lena to Grigori, apparently deciding this was not a problem he had enough information to solve.
Neil reached for his water but said nothing.
Grigori exhaled through his nose. "And sometimes experienced employees get sent to help train people elsewhere."
"That doesn't mean you have to go every time they ask."
Sarah spoke before Grigori could answer.
"Lena…"
Lena looked at her. "Mom, come on."
"I know."
That stopped her.
Sarah looked down at her hands. Her wedding ring caught the kitchen light when she turned it absently with her thumb.
"I know," she repeated.
The anger went out of Lena almost immediately.
Adam preferred it when she was angry. Anger meant she was still fighting with someone. This somehow felt worse.
Lena looked back at Grigori. Her eyes had gone bright.
"I hate when you leave."
Grigori's jaw tightened once.
"I know."
"You always miss something."
"I know, Lena."
"My debate finals."
"I remember."
"My sixteenth birthday dinner."
"I was there for part of it."
"And that Christmas when you came home two days late."
Grigori's eyes dropped for the first time since the conversation began.
"I know."
Lena wiped at one eye before tears fell.
"That doesn't make it better."
"No. It doesn't."
Nobody at the table moved for several seconds.
Adam watched his father. Not his face.
His shoulders. His hands. The small things.
Grigori had taught him to look there first.
Across from him, Aaron had gone completely still.
Neil was watching Grigori too.
Different from anyone else. Adam couldn't tell what that meant, or get a read of him for any matter.
Jack, meanwhile, stared down at his plate with the rigid concentration of someone trying very hard not to intrude on a family argument while sitting directly in the middle of it.
Sarah stood.
"I'm going to put some of this away."
Grigori started to rise. "I can help."
"I've got it."
Her voice was gentle. That somehow made the room feel worse.
She picked up her plate and moved toward the kitchen counter.
Jack immediately reached for his own.
Sarah looked at him. "You don't have to do that."
"I'm already standing."
He wasn't. Jack seemed to realize this at the same time everyone else did.
He stood anyway and collected Neil's empty glass along with his plate.
Neil gave him a small nod of thanks.
Lena rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand.
"This is bullshit."
Sarah looked over from the counter.
"Language, young lady."
Lena stared at her.
Sarah held the look a moment, then sighed.
"Fine. This once."
Lena turned back toward Grigori.
"This is bullshit."
Grigori laughed. It escaped him before he could stop it.
Lena's mouth twitched. Then she started crying.
Grigori was out of his chair immediately.
"Oh, come here."
"I hate you."
"Yeah. I know you do."
She stood anyway.
Grigori wrapped both arms around her, and Lena buried her face against his chest.
"I hate your stupid job."
"I know."
"And your stupid van."
"I know."
"And I hate that you act like this is normal."
That one made Grigori go quiet.
His hand moved slowly over the back of her head.
"I know," he said, quieter now. "I know it's not."
Adam looked toward Sarah.
She had stopped putting the food away.
Her eyes were wet too.
Neil stood beside the table, one hand resting against the back of his chair. He looked away from Grigori and Lena and toward the kitchen instead, giving them what little privacy the room allowed.
Jack followed his father's lead and focused very seriously on stacking two plates that did not need stacking.
Adam understood the gesture. They were staying. But they were trying not to make themselves part of this.
Lena eventually pulled away and wiped her face.
"You better come back."
Grigori looked at her for a long moment.
Adam already knew what he'd say. Grigori didn't make promises he couldn't keep.
"I'll do everything I can."
Lena frowned immediately.
"I hate that answer too."
"I know, sweetie."
"I'm not twelve anymore.." Lena said, but not exactly pushing him away.
She moved over to Sarah, who put an arm around her shoulders.
For several seconds, the only sounds in the room were dishes touching the counter and the low hum of the refrigerator.
Aaron finally broke the silence.
"When exactly are you leaving?"
Sarah and Lena heard a normal question.
Adam didn't. He suspected Grigori didn't either.
"Early, two mornings from now," Grigori said.
Aaron nodded.
Adam looked at him. "Straight to Texas?"
"That's the plan."
Another nod.
Grigori's eyes moved from Aaron to Adam.
There was something in the look Adam recognized immediately.
Later. Not here.
Adam gave the smallest nod back.
Across the table, Neil saw the exchange.
His expression didn't change.
Jack was still carrying plates to the counter and missed it completely.
That difference bothered Adam enough to file away too.
Sarah turned from the kitchen. "How long before you know when you're coming home?"
Grigori looked at her.
"I'll tell you as soon as I know."
She nodded, but Adam could tell she didn't like the answer any more than Lena had.
Neil finally spoke.
"If there's anything you need handled here while you're gone, tell me."
It sounded ordinary enough. An old friend offering help.
Grigori looked at him for half a second longer than the sentence required.
"I will. Thank you."
Adam noticed that. Three things now: Neil hadn't looked surprised, he had noticed the silent exchange between Grigori and the boys, and Grigori had answered him differently than he answered most people.
None of it meant much by itself, so Adam let it go, for now.
Grigori looked back toward Sarah and Lena, then at Adam and Aaron.
The dinner had changed completely in less than ten minutes.
A few minutes ago, Aaron had been arguing that fences were a valid substitute for high school. Sarah had been trying to feed everyone twice what they needed. Now Lena was crying against their mother, and Grigori was leaving again.
Adam felt the shape of the next conversation waiting after this one. It would be about the house, check-ins, emergency contacts, money, what would happen if Grigori could not be reached and what Adam and Aaron were expected to do while he was gone.