Next of Kin

While she’s out with Willow one day, Chloe sees Luke smoking pot with his friends. Chloe makes her presence known and tells Willow they’ll have to tell grumpy Warren, thinking, “These are probably not the phrases the mommy blogs would recommend, but they’ll have to do” (72). Luke comes home from school early, claiming he doesn’t feel good. Chloe makes him a sandwich and tells him to talk to Warren. Luke agrees though he isn’t happy about it, and Chloe wonders what she’ll do if she ever has to have these conversations with Willow.

Warren confronts Chloe about Luke smoking and coming home early. He’s angry that Chloe has made decisions about Luke for him, but when Chloe apologizes, he seems embarrassed and leaves. A few hours later, Warren apologizes, explaining he’s working on his anger in therapy. He asks Chloe not to get too attached to Luke because Warren’s already looking at another school a few towns over and doesn’t “want to see him lose anyone else” (80). Chloe understands but offers an alternative. Since they all need help, they can split meals and groceries and offer assistance when appropriate.