“No,” Ali interrupted Leia, “You don’t get to do that.” She kicked the dirt beneath her, scuffing the tip of her boots that Auntie Fee had just had shined for her. Some of the bits flew up, right into her mouth, causing her to choke a little. It wasn’t exactly the strong image she was trying to convey, but she stood her ground, her face only mildly red from choking up. “You don’t get to just call all the shots all the time because you think you know best. You don’t know everything, okay? Maybe you know the most about school, or baking, or...I don’t know! But the one thing I know more about than you do is my brother.” She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke. She’d been so good and so brave ever since Rocket went missing. Knowing that whoever, or whatever, took him wasn’t as smart or as cunning as he was, and he’d back before they knew it, but as days passed he stayed missing and Leia kept trying to tell them what to do about it and she was sick of it. “We might be a ‘family’, but you’ll never know him as well as I do, okay? Because at the end of the day, I’m his sister. I’ll be with him forever. And you?” She paused, looking Leia up and down, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you ditched Rocket as soon as you got to college. Away from Coolsville. Away from us.” She stopped, finally feeling a tear roll down her cheek. “So I’m sorry if I’m not going to take anymore orders from you concerning him. I’m gonna find him on my own.” She nodded her head in Richie’s direction, signaling him to follow her. “He doesn’t count,” She mumbled, grabbing the keys to the van off the table, leaving Leia, Baby and Jackson behind her.
