Chapters 25 through 28 Summary

Arielle wakes up at the homeless shelter, where she and her mother share a room with two battered women in their 70s. Her mother is apologetic about the situation and says she will get them out as soon as possible, and they will also get Kiki back. Arielle needs to return to school, but has no clothes to wear, so Mrs. Toth, the shelter director, lets her choose some things from some teen clothes that have just been donated. Arielle must ride the shelter's bus to school, but her friends greet her warmly and she feels good. She tells the girls that the shelter is not so bad and she has realized that both she and her mother have been mentally abused. They have learned that Chad's office transferred him to California and he had been planning this move for months...