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“Okay.” He bends down and grabs the bat. “Come on. Let’s go downstairs and wait for the police. We can wait at my house. My dad will know what to do. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“No!” The word explodes out of me as I grab his hand before he can take another step.

“No?” His brows shoot up. “Max, I know you’re scared, but the sooner we find out who broke into your house, the better. Who knows who they’ll go after next?”

Only me. They’ll only ever come for me.

“I didn’t call the police,” I admit.

He takes a step closer and cradles my face between his palms again. “Why, Max? You could have been seriously hurt tonight. Just the thought of…” He can’t finish the sentence. Instead, he presses his forehead to mine and draws a steadying breath. “If anything ever happened to you…”

“I’m okay,” I say, trying to put on a brave face. “You’re here now, and you scared the burglars away.”

“This doesn’t look like a burglary, Max. If they were after money, they could’ve picked any other house on this street. Not yours. So please, just tell me the truth. What happened here tonight?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say, turning my back on him and heading toward my bed.

“Max, don’t turn your back on me. This isn’t a joke.”

“Oh, trust me. I know.” A nervous laugh escapes me.

He grabs my wrist, stopping me. Then he steps around me, gently brushing his fingers over my cheek.

“Don’t do that. Don’t act like this is okay. Nothing about this is okay,” he says, searching my face. “Please. Just talk to me. What happened tonight?”

The words are right there on the tip of my tongue. Ask your stepsister. But I don’t have the courage to let them out. Instead, I cover his hand with mine and press a kiss to his palm.

“Can you stay with me tonight?”

Milo’s eyes go wide as saucers, a soft blush creeping over his cheeks.

The sight would be adorable if I weren’t so exhausted.

I’m tired. So very fucking tired.

I don’t wait for him to answer. Instead, I take his hand and lead him toward my bed. He doesn’t say a word as I climb beneath the covers, waiting for him to join me.

“Are you sure?” he croaks.

“Please. Just stay with me.”

That’s all it takes.

He pulls off his jacket and kicks off his sneakers, but leaves his T-shirt and jeans on. Normally, I’d make a joke about how he’s going to sleep like shit in those, but I don’t have the energy.

Milo climbs into bed beside me, and I immediately curl into him, resting my head against his chest. When his arm comes around me, something inside me finally lets go.

“Thank you,” I manage to whisper.

I don’t even realize I’m drifting off until the steady beat of Milo’s heart beneath my ear begins to fade, taking the last of my thoughts with it.

And for the first time in six nights, I sleep.

My eyelids flutter open to Milo’s fingertips softly brushing strands of hair from my face.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he whispers as I stretch my arms, feeling surprisingly refreshed.

“What time is it?”