- At Ali's house that night, Mrs. McDermott is all zombie-like watching television, and when Torey goes to Ali's room, she says if her mom's boyfriend comes home they have to make a quick escape outside.
- Strange. She won't say why, though, nor will she tell him who her boyfriend is.
- Torey immediately thinks it's probably Chris Creed. Creepy.
- They lie down on the bed and spy on the Creed's house. Ali tells him that Mrs. Creed goes in the room every night and searches for something, maybe a diary that Ali has seen Chris write in and hide behind a picture hanging on his wall.
- Also they can see Chris's mom raging on the phone, and Ali thinks it is to the police because she has no friends and her two sisters hate her. They haven't talked in a long time.
- Peeking in on Chris's two brothers, they notice that each boy's room is exactly the same. Same furniture, same set up, nothing personal around. Spic and span.
- Hearing Mrs. McDermott's boyfriend come in, Ali grabs her coat and says he is a pig and they need to leave, but just then Mrs. Creed goes into Chris's room.
- Ali doesn't want Torey to miss seeing this, so they stay in the room.
- In the house across the way, Mrs. Creed hollers, "Lights out… troops, march" (8.51), and one of the kids, Justin, gives her the finger behind his door.
- The Pig, Albert, asks who is in Ali's room with her and she lies saying she's alone and is leaving.
- They see Chris's mom go into his bedroom and begin to search for something, determined and focused; she isn't sad-looking or anything, which confuses Torey.
- From upstairs in her mom's room, Torey and Ali hear loud sex noises, which is humiliating and gross; Ali explains that Albert the Pig wants the kids to hear, that he likes it. Yuck to the tenth degree, Shmoopers.
- Apparently Mrs. McDermott has had a whole bunch of boyfriends and cheated on her husband, which is why he left her. Torey is dumbfounded. He has no idea what to say.
- Thinking maybe this situation is abusive, he suggests telling the police, but Ali says no.
- Just then, her boyfriend comes in and Torey is surprised to learn it's not Chris, but Bo Richardson who looks dangerous.
- Ali is scared of him finding out about her mom, but Bo confidently marches up the stairs and tells off Albert and tells them to cut it out. No, really: he commands them, and they stop.
- When Bo walks back to Ali's room, he picks up seven-year-old Greg and gives him a piggyback ride. He is really nice to the kid, then sends him to bed.
- Torey is again shocked, but realizes that Ali is lucky to have Bo as a boyfriend since none of the other kids would have any idea what to do for Ali.
- Bo warns him not to tell anyone about their relationship, though, because Ali doesn't need any more issues at school with her reputation. Wow, that's pretty nice. Torey sees that Bo has never shown this unselfish and mature side at school. Torey feels like a young kid around them.
- Then Bo tells them that all his friends are scared because they know one of them will be blamed for murder if Chris isn't found.
- Across the way, Mrs. Creed puts away the last sweater in the closet; she doesn't find the diary this time, but Ali says she will one day. And she'll get rid of the evidence.
- Bo decides then and there to go steal it so she can't get her hands on it.
- Ali tries to stop him but he doesn't listen to her, and so that Torey doesn't just sit around not doing anything to help, he follows Bo.