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I got dressed and kissed him at the door. He kissed me back, and as before, he melted into my touch but then he pulled away.

“Oh my god.” I stop in my tracks and take a big gulp of frozen air that I immediately cough out.

Gouta stops and looks back at me with a quizzical turn of her head.

“Gouta, he’s been bracing himself.”

He thinks I’m going to leave. I never told him the outcome of the New York trip. Did I assume he might know from Bastian or Taylen?

I don’t know. I remember I tried to bring up the subject, but he kept avoiding it. Now I’m wondering if it’s because he didn’t want to hear me say we’re going back on the road.

Fuck.

“I’m an idiot.”

While I’ve been trying to get closer to him and waiting for the right moment, he’s been hanging on to every last moment while also trying to protect his heart.

I resume my walk with a new urgency.

My feet hurt now, but in a good way because blood is coming back into them. I ignore the pain and keep going.

When I round the bend in the track, the farmhouse comes into view.

The house is lit up, but the driveway is empty except for my rental. No trucks. Nobody’s here. Everyone must still be at the festival for the closing.

Good. I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.

I go up the porch steps two at a time and let myself in through the mudroom door. My coat is stiff with snow and my gloves are wet. I peel everything off and go straight upstairs to the guestroom I’m staying in.

I plug the phone in, but the screen stays black for a long minute while it registers that it’s getting power.

I stare at the clock on the nightstand.

Eleven thirty-one p.m.

Fuck.

I’ve missed the entire closing ceremony. The festival is over, and I missed the end.

I stare at the phone. Come on. Come on.

At seven percent, it lets me turn it on. The screen floods with notifications. Missed calls from Nikko, from Bastian, from Stone, and a string of texts that get increasingly worried.

Stone

Hey, the mayor is going to thank us on stage in about an hour. Would be great if you were, you know, physically present.

Nikko

Where are you?

Stone

Bro, we are not a trio. Where are you?

Nikko

Fox. Seriously. Answer your fucking phone.