Everyone laughed as Ike started down the street from the interview.

“I can’t believe you told that lady you were betrothed, Zac!” Tay cried, holding his sides.

Maddie took in a deep breath. “I can’t believe he said he was betrothed to me!”

“What was I supposed to say?” Zac demanded. “I get bored saying, ‘No, we don’t have girlfriends’, so I figured I’d have some fun,” he told them. “You guys thought it was funny.”

“Yeah,” Ike agreed. “Did you see the look on that lady’s face? I thought she was going to have a heart attack.”

Maddie giggled. “I hope she doesn’t print that! I’ll have angry Hanson fans at my door!”

“Yeah,” Tay agreed. “All between the ages of seven and thirteen!”

The laughter subsided and Isaac let out a sigh. “You mind if I turn on the radio?” No one objected, so he hit the button and a song came blaring through the speakers. It was “Tubthumping” by Chumbawumba.

Ike, Tay, and Zac all started singing along. When there was a short pause in the lyrics, Tay asked, “Don’t you like this song, Maddie?”

She shrugged. “It’s okay. Why?”

“You’re not singing along,” he said simply.

She laughed. “I still don’t know the lyrics!” she cried. Everyone laughed.

Less than ten minutes later, Isaac pulled into the Patrick driveway. The Neon was already there. “I wonder how Jessie’s appointment went,” Ike said as he cut the engine.

“I guess we’ll find out when we go inside,” Maddie said, jumping out of the truck.

The four of them made their way into the house and to the back room where they found Jessie and Walker on the floor, pounding on the controllers of Maddie’s video game system. Just as they sat down on the sofa next to Diana, Jessie screamed, “Yes! I win!” Walker tossed his hands in the air helplessly and stood up.

“Oh, hello,” he said, seeing that new people had entered the room.

“Hi,” Maddie greeted.

Zac stood up and joined Jessie on the floor and Walker took his spot on the couch. “So, Jessie,” Maddie said as they started up a new game, “how’d your doctor’s appointment go?”

She turned around and smiled. “They said I’ll only have to wear my cast for a few more days,” she announced happily.

“That’s great,” Maddie said.

“I tell you, Ike,” Maddie said later that night as she finished off the dinner dishes, “your mom sure does know how to cook.”

He nodded. “That she does,” he agreed, drying off a plate and putting it in the cabinet. He dried the last of the silverware and put it in the drawer, looked at Maddie and gave a small grin.

Maddie held her hand out to him. When Isaac took it, she led him back to the guest bedroom in which she was staying. “Sit down,” she suggested, closing the door when they were both inside.

“Why are we back here?” he asked, sitting on the bed.

Maddie shrugged. “Less noise,” she said simply. She crossed the room and sat on the bed beside Isaac. “I guess I just wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?”

“Reading my diary,” she said. Isaac smiled. “And,” she added, “showing me that not all guys are jerks. You’re a true friend.”

Ike linked his fingers through Maddie’s. “I try,” he said simply.

Maddie squeezed his hand. “I overheard you and your dad before dinner,” she said quietly. “You’re leaving tomorrow, huh?”

Isaac nodded slowly. “Afraid so,” he told her. “I wish we could stay longer, but . . .”

“I know,” she said simply. “So many things to do, so little time to do them. All that good junk, right?

“Something like that,” he agreed. “So,” he said slowly, changing the subject, “how’s your back?”

Maddie shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

“Could I take a look?” he asked. Maddie nodded and turned around. She lifted her shirt in back and Isaac gave a scrutinizing look. He ran his hand softly over where the bruise had been earlier that day. “Amazing,” he murmured. “It’s gone.

“My body heals quickly,” Maddie said with a shrug, letting her shirt fall back down. “My mind, though . . . Well, that might take a while.”

Isaac moved his hands to her shoulders and began massaging them. “What do you mean?” he asked softly.

“Just . . . It’ll take me a while to get through this. It’s going to take some time for me to forgive myself for that accident -”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Isaac insisted.

“I know,” Maddie said. “It’s just . . . I told myself eight years ago that I was never going to put anyone through what I went through. I wasn’t going to put another little kid through the X-rays and the cast and the crutches and the dreams. But I did. And even though Jessie’s okay, I still did it. I can’t get away from that, so I’ll have to deal with it,” she explained. “I don’t know if that sounds stupid to you or what, but . . .”

“No,” he said quietly, hands still gently massaging her back. “I understand what you mean.”

There was a pause in the conversation. From the back room, the sound of the music on the video game Zac and Jessie were playing was just barely audible. Maddie smiled to herself. “I’m going to miss you when you leave,” she said softly. “All of you. I never realized how empty this house was without people in it. I’m going to miss waking up next to Jessie when she has a nightmare and eating your mom’s cooking for breakfast. And I’m going to miss Zoë crying and Mack and Avery running around the house. I’m going to miss Zac’s jokes and Tay’s sarcasm.” Not turning, Maddie reached up and took Isaac’s hands in hers. “I’m going to miss you.”

He squeezed her fingers gently. “I’ll keep in touch,” he promised.

Maddie smiled, still not turning to face him. “I doubt it,” she said. “You’re a busy guy, Ike. Face it, after tomorrow, we’ll probably never see each other again.”

Isaac stood up and repositioned himself in front of Maddie. “Don’t talk like that,” he said, sitting down next to her once more. “We’ll see each other. I mean, Jessie would never forgive either of us if she never saw her new best friend again.”

At this comment, Maddie had to smile. “You’re right about that,” she agreed. She shook her head. “For the life of me, I still can’t see why she likes me so much.”

He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head slightly. “I can,” he said softly.