The respite family encouraged her to keep a weekly schedule, including homework, visits, counseling, and time when she was not expected to produce anything. That last category confused her. She was used to earning a place in a room by being quiet, useful, or impressive. At the garage she had offered to work for tips, and at the group home she had tried to be invisible whenever adults seemed irritated. Denise told her that rest was not a privilege she had to win. The sentence sounded too simple to trust, which made Sky think about it for a long time.
On a Saturday afternoon, Gregory found her sitting beside the unfinished practice tank, studying it with her chin on her arms. He asked whether she was worried about the design. She shook her head. "I'm worried you're all going to decide helping me was a mistake."
Gregory lowered himself onto a stool with the care his knee required. "I have regretted plenty of decisions," he said. "Listening when a kid came through my door has not made the list."
"You didn't know who I was when I came in," Sky reminded him. "No," he said. "That doesn't mean I would've been right to laugh." He told her he had been thinking about the little girl in Luther's photographs, and how easy it had been to believe that a brother's silence meant there was nothing else to know.
"I should have asked him," Gregory said. "Maybe he would have told me. Maybe he wouldn't. But I should have asked."
Sky looked toward the old photograph on the wall. "He didn't want you to feel bad," she said, surprising him. "He didn't want anybody to look at me like I was a problem." Gregory swallowed.
"Well, he got one thing wrong," he answered. "You're not a problem. You're a person with problems somebody should've helped you carry." For the first time she turned fully toward him instead of answering while looking at her hands.
Later that afternoon Terry received a call from the school office. A man who had identified himself as a private investigator had asked whether Sky was attending classes and whether he could meet her to clarify information about her disappearance. The school had refused to provide information and documented the inquiry. Terry relayed the report to Natalie and Martha, who advised the adults not to confront the man if he appeared at the garage. The school adjusted its visitor procedures and confirmed that only authorized caregivers could collect Sky.