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“No way,” I said to no one before turning my back on the warped-looking building. Of all the places he had to disappear into.

Lauryn’s voice danced around in my head. Maybe you should go find those answers?

Dammit.

Sometimes I really hated it when she was right.

I took a deep breath underneath the twisty lettering, then parted the thick curtains of the entrance and stepped inside.

The checkered black-and-white floor and walls, painted with drippy-looking clocks and funky symbols, reflected a rainbow of colors under a black light. From where I stood, rows upon rows of arches stretched in front of me and to my right and left, enticing guests to try a different path, but I knew better. This was not the first time I had been in this house.

A loud thump sounded somewhere to my left followed by a groan and a low “Shit.”

I laughed, snuck around one of the corners, out of sight, and cupped my hands around my mouth. “You okay in there, Fulton?”

“Eliza? Is that you?”

“It’s me.” In a dark house. Alone. With you.

I must be losing my mind.

“Can you find me? I’m not sure which version of me is me anymore.” He ran into another wall. “Hell, I think I may have a concussion now.”

I giggled and peeked around the corner, spying where he was. I darted around the arches. “But this is too much fun.”

He sighed. “How about a game of Marco Polo, then?”

I leaned against the mirror next to me and took a deep breath as more of Lauryn’s words echoed in my head. It’s okay, you know. To like him.

“Marco?” Reed called.

I stepped near another mirror, still out of sight. “Polo.”

“Marco?”

This was too easy. I could walk through this place blindfolded. “Polo.”

“Hmmm…” He patted the walls and walked more slowly. “Marco?”

He moved closer now. Much closer. The sweet pine smell of his cologne mixed with the smell of freshly cut grass made me dizzy. “Polo,” I whispered.

“Marco.”

The floor creaked on the opposite side of the mirrored wall nearest to me.

Was that my heart pounding so loudly? Or maybe it was the bass from the speakers inside the walls? My voice shook. “P-Polo—”

His hand reached around the corner and grabbed mine. Part of his face glowed from the neon lights while the rest was shadowy, but I could see his smile in both the dark and the light. He gently tucked one of the stray pieces of my hair behind my ear, lingering there for a moment too long.

I rolled out of reach. “What are we doing here, Reed?”

“We’re…walking through a house of mirrors that’s making me wonder if this is what it feels like to trip on acid.” He propped his arm against an archway.

“No. What are we doing?” I flailed my arms between the two of us.

He stood up straight. “Eliza—”

“At the end of this summer, one of us will lose.” Didn’t he get that?