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Imagine me as someone’s girlfriend. Moving every few months, being on constant alert, jumping at every noise. Can’t go anywhere, can’t do anything because even though 99 percent of the time George doesn’t show up, I’m worried that he will.

I’m not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents because I’d be checking the rearview the entire way there. I’d be worried I’d be exposing them to danger, that their trash would be sifted through next, that the next 2:00 a.m. knock at the door would be at their house instead of mine.

This thing Seth and I were doing, it wasn’t real life. I’m not really carefree and fun. And the second those stairs went back up, he’d see that.

When I didn’t answer, he changed the subject.

“Hey, tomorrow morning, I need you to not check your door camera,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to be doing something out there, and I don’t want you to see it?”

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll text you when it’s okay to come out.”

I smiled into the phone.

“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day,” he said. “Not that the thing I’m doing is for that. Unless you want it to be for that.”

“It cannot be for that,” I said sadly.

There was a disappointed silence on the other end of the line.

“Good night, Seth.”

“Good night, Charlotte.”

Then we hung up like he was a million miles from here and not just a few easy steps away from my front door.

Seth Chapter 7

Ground control to Tower,” Gabe said when I answered the phone. “I’ve got the thing.”

I came out to the landing. Izzy and Gabe were both down there. She was wearing his Level 7 Fireball shirt, knotted at the waist. Gabe had a hickey.

“I picked up some stuff to make mimosas,” Izzy said as I lowered the bucket. “She’ll like it.”

“Thanks.”

I brought up three buckets worth of precious cargo.

“Let us know if you need anything else,” Gabe said after the last bucket made it to the landing.

“Will do.”

He turned to Izzy. “Hey, you wanna go get boba?”

“I need two hundred dollars,” she said.

He pulled his face back. “For boba?”

“No. For me. For stuff.”

“Two hundred bucks?”

“Yes.”