Page 32 of Dotted Lines (Runaway 5)

“Clara.”

“Did you let me win?”

He looked over and winked. “You’ll never know.”

“Jerk!” I poked him in the side, then lay down again, my smile wider now than it had been all night.

He chuckled. If that was what I could do for him, make him laugh, then I was calling tonight a success. And maybe I needed a laugh too.

I was lighter, having told him my story. The fear that came with it had eased. Maybe I should have told him a long time ago.

“I know it’s not ideal, but I’m going to miss these starry nights,” Karson said.

“Me too.”

The junkyard was far enough from the center of town that the glow from the city’s lights didn’t completely obscure the night sky. The stars would come out and on clear nights like this, they were little blips of hope, twinkles of joy that promised life wouldn’t always be this hard. They were there, watching over us. Maybe the stars were the lost souls of the ones we’d loved.

Maybe two of those stars were for my parents.

I hoped at this very moment, with me lying beside the boy I really liked, Dad wasn’t watching.

“I’m not going to miss the dirt,” he said.

“Same. And I’m not going to miss the tight spaces. Sleeping in an oversized coffin. Someday, I want a house with lots of windows. So that even when I’m inside, it feels open and airy.”

“I just want four walls. Four real walls. A fridge. A microwave.”

I snuck a glance at Karson’s profile. It was perfection. His nose was straight. His jaw strong and dusted with stubble. His lips soft.

“I’m going to miss you.” The words came out before I could stop them.

When he faced me, his hazel eyes had that captivating edge again. The same one he’d given me the day of the stoplight. “I’m going to miss you too.”

My breath caught in my throat.

“Clara . . .”

“Yeah?”

Karson didn’t answer. He turned to the sky and my heart sank. I was imagining this. It had to be the beer. It had to be—

I didn’t get to finish that thought. Because one moment, my eyes were glued to the darkening night sky.

The next, Karson was there.

And his lips came crashing down on mine.

Chapter Six

Clara

The rattle of metal on metal woke me from sleep.

I blinked, wincing at the ache pounding in my temples. God, it was hot. Why was it so hot?

A weight rested on my side, and behind me, there was a furnace. A hard, strong furnace.

No, a body.