Three Years Ago

WE BEAT THE SUNRISE TO Blackstone, a sleepy little town that had yet to wake up from the country’s financial slump. Nature seemed to have overtaken a number of the neighborhoods we’d driven through, looking for the mural that was mentioned in Liam and Ruby’s coded message.

“All right,” Chubs muttered. “This is getting ridiculous….”

Back in the Betty days, we used to relish mornings like these, where our chances of being seen and reported dwindled enough for us to find a place to park and rest for a few hours. But it seemed to be having the opposite effect on Chubs. He shook his head at each abandoned house, sighed at the potholes we hit. It was clear that what I saw as a blessing, he saw as unfinished work.

There’s so much left to do. The more I thought about it, the heavier the realization sat in me. It seemed insurmountable; how many roads, how many neighborhoods, were exactly like this one? How were we ever going to get to them all in our lifetime?

“There—” I said, pointing. There was a small road sign barely hanging on to its post. It was twisted and bowed backward, but still readable. “We have to go right to find ‘Historic Main Street.’ That sounds promising.”

For all those hours we’d spent driving in circles, once we were on the right road, we found the mural immediately. A saintly hooded figure held out both of his hands, welcoming us. Compared to the dirty brick exteriors, the paints were bright and fresh. The image seemed to glow with the sheen of the drizzle on this overcast day.

A few cars were parked in front of the shops along the street. They had their choice of a grocery store, a pharmacy, and…

“There’s the coffee shop.” Chubs pointed to it. “All right, they said what again?”

“We’re supposed to write a name on the wall and leave a rock?” I said, reading from the sheet again. “And then they want us to go in and buy tea.”

He looked at me. “Why tea?”

“That’s the part you find strange?” I asked. “Do you have anything to write with?”

We searched the car, eventually turning up an old pen in the center console. After looking up and down the street to make sure no one was watching, we got out and walked over to the mural. Cold air bit at me as I stared up at the towering image.

“This is ridiculous,” Chubs muttered, trying to scratch his name onto one of the painted bricks. It was so faint, I didn’t even bother trying to write my own when he handed the pen to me.

I told him before that this wasn’t a scavenger hunt, and I still believed that. Clearly, the address wasn’t going to suddenly flash across the wall because we’d completed the mysterious steps. If anything, the steps probably didn’t matter as much as being seen attempting them did. Someone nearby must have been keeping an eye on this spot. If they didn’t have the address, then maybe they were notifying Liam and Ruby we were here, and were ready to be picked up?

“He should have just given us a stupid address,” Chubs said. “I feel insane doing this. Come on, let’s go back to the car—”

“Wait,” I said, searching the ground nearby. “The rock—”

I picked up a broken chunk of brick, turning back toward the mural. But that had been the end of our instructions. With no other place to really put it, I set it down against the wall, just under the painted figure’s feet.

“This is ridiculous,” Chubs said again, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“You need to go buy tea,” I said. “Remember?”

I wanted to go in with him, but I also didn’t want the questions or looks I’d get from the others, especially if there was a chance that it would spook Liam and Ruby.

Chubs sighed, but started to trudge across the slushy street anyway.

“Hang on,” I told him. He let me pull his hat down a little more and adjust his scarf so that it covered his identification pin. I took his glasses off too, just for good measure. I didn’t think he’d even been photographed without a pair.

Chubs gave me a slightly unfocused, but definitely irritated, look.

“Just this once,” I said.

Waiting for him in the car was pure torture. When Chubs finally appeared again, two steaming cups in his hands, he looked even unhappier than before.

“Nothing?” I asked.

He passed me my usual hot chocolate. “After making incredibly creepy eye contact with everyone in that café, I can only assume that they’re either going to show up, or the local police will beat them to it—ah, shoot—”

Hot water from the tea spilled down his front. Chubs started to blot the stains with a napkin. The cup tilted dangerously again.

“Give me that,” I said.

As he passed it over, the protective sleeve slipped down.

I set my own drink aside, sliding the sleeve off completely. I turned the cup so he could see the address scribbled there.

Chubs leaned back against his seat, letting the napkin fall to the floor.

“All right,” he said. “Let me see the map again.”

In the end, the address didn’t even lead us to a house. It took us down a small back road and onto a cleared lot of land. I would have picked it out as the address even if I hadn’t seen the numbers spray-painted onto the tree at the edge of the road, or the red truck parked just out of sight.

Chubs pulled up alongside the truck and killed the ignition. For a moment, we simply sat there, listening to the rustle of rain falling through the nearby leaves. It glazed the windshield, blotting out our view of the world.

“Should we get out and take a look around?” I suggested, my hand already on the door.

“Guess so,” he said.

We wandered the lot, passing each other as we circled it. As I moved closer to the far edge of the field, the rain sounded different. Louder. I moved deeper into the foliage, pushing a shrub out of the way until I saw why.

“Zu?” Chubs called.

“Over here!” I waved my arms big and wide so he’d see me. “Look!”

Chubs looked all right. And he did not like what he saw. The only word to describe his expression was grim.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

Before he could answer, a dark shape appeared in the haze, moving in a quick, smooth path across the silver surface of the lake. Plaid shirt. Baseball cap. Whistling the Rolling Stones.

Liam.

He turned on the small rowboat’s bench, finally noticing us. The drop from the trees to the water was steep—too steep to run down and greet him like I wanted to.

“Damn, I can’t believe you guys beat me here!” he called up, turning his boat to bring it alongside the edge of the water. “There’s a little beach-y area over this way, a few hundred feet. It’s easier to grab you from there…unless you want to swan-dive into my arms, Chubsie? You know how much I love a dramatic reunion.”

Chubs started in the direction Liam had pointed. From down in the boat, Liam shot me a questioning look. I shrugged. We both knew Chubs. Sometimes he needed a little time to warm up to a situation.

The curve of the hill was rockier than I’d expected. Chubs turned back to help me navigate it, steadying me as we climbed over a downed tree.

“Really, I’m fine,” he whispered when he saw me studying him.

By the time we made it down to the flat, even ground, Liam had pulled the boat up onto the shore. I released my grip on Chubs’s hand, and Liam hopped out just in time to catch me as I took a running leap toward him. His laughter was slightly breathless as he swung me around until both of us were dizzy.

“Now that’s a proper hello!” he said, tugging my askew hat back down over my ears.

As soon as my feet were back on solid ground, I punched him in the stomach. His laughter burst out of him as he doubled over.

“Don’t you dare ever leave without telling us again!” I said, letting the last six months of worry and anger into the words. “It wasn’t right—it’s not right.”

Liam straightened, the mirth slipping from his expression. “You’re right. It wasn’t. If there was a way to get you guys a message without risking someone else finding out…I should have tried harder. It was just so nuts at the end, especially with what happened to Ruby’s dad. We had to get out before things got worse, no matter the consequences.”

Those consequences being that they were now fugitives in the eyes of the government. Ruby had been more carefully monitored with curfews and check-ins than any other Psi, and when she and Liam had disappeared, she’d broken her word to the interim president and United Nations that she’d follow those strict arrangements. We weren’t allowed to live outside the system the government had methodically set up for us anymore. At least not legally.

“It’s not—” Chubs began to say, then cut himself off. His hands were still tucked into his jacket’s pockets, but the fabric was thin enough for me to see that his hands had curled into fists.

Liam opened his arms wide. “I’m up for round two, buddy. Don’t fight the twirl.”

“Could we possibly get out of the rain first?” he said, taking off his glasses and wiping them clean on his undershirt.

The rain dripped off the brim of Liam’s beat-up hat as he stared at Chubs. His arms fell back to his sides, and he glanced toward me again. I gave him a pained smile.

This wasn’t acceptable. I knew there might be a little weirdness, and Liam pretending like nothing had happened wasn’t exactly helping, but there was no reason for it to be this awkward.

I walked over to Chubs and planted my hands on his back, pushing him forward until, finally, he relaxed enough to fold Liam into a quick, hard hug.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m just tired. We had an early start.”

“I do recall how much you love your early rises. I also seem to recall having to carry you out of one motel room bridal-style to get you into Betty before sunrise.”

Chubs took his glasses off to clean them again, even though they weren’t wet at all.

The tense silence was back, winding through us.

“Is Vi still in the car?” Liam asked, glancing behind us.

“She had to work,” Chubs said.

Liam’s expression fell. “Oh. Maybe next time, then.”

“Maybe,” Chubs said. He nodded toward the rowboat. “Are we all going to fit in that? I’m guessing we have to go back across the lake to get to your hideout.”

“You’d be correct in that assumption, my dear Chubston,” Liam said, turning back toward the water with his hands on his hips. “It’s not as big as Lake Lee is a ways up the road, but, then, all lakes should have something to aspire to. I feel lucky that we found this place.”

“It does have that certain…comfort of familiarity,” Chubs said slowly.

Another confused look dimmed Liam’s smile, but he recovered quickly and moved to help me step into the boat. It actually was a tight squeeze. In the end, I had to nestle down into the foot well beneath them, using Chubs’s sweater as a cushion. Liam pushed us back into the water and jumped in with the ease of someone who’d done it countless times. I passed the oars to him.

“Aaaand we’re off.” Liam pushed up his sleeves as the boat coasted. He didn’t seem bothered by the chill or his soaked shirt. If anything, he was beaming. There was this…ease to him, one I hadn’t seen before. The brightness was back in his eyes, and his face had filled out again. I remembered looking at him in those last tense weeks before the camps fell and not recognizing him at times. The strain of everything, his grief over losing his brother, the constant threats on Ruby’s life, it all slowly broke him down and carved away at his health.

“Sorry about the cloak-and-dagger routine,” he said. “We’re working out the kinks for making contact. It all feels complicated now, but I don’t think the old network will have any issues getting the instructions out in the next few weeks.”

“Wait, who are you getting the message out to?” I asked.

Liam pulled the oars back through the water, smiling. “This isn’t just our new home. Ruby and I decided that we’re going to turn it into a safe place for other kids who need help. We’ve already gone to get three kids based on tips from some of our old Children’s League friends.”

“That’s great,” I said. And it was very them. I could easily see the two of them out navigating back roads, stepping in to help out the kids who needed it most. “Are they runaways?”

Liam glanced over at Chubs, who’d turned his back to us and was running his fingers through the water. “Actually, the three we have now had been returned to abusive households.”

Chubs’s hand stilled.

“Well,” I said, too brightly. “That’s…great. That is super great.” The awkward silence was back. “How did you guys end up here?”

As Liam told the story, he relaxed back into his task. After he and Ruby had disappeared, they’d spent weeks simply camping out, until Harry, Liam’s stepfather, was able to meet them. And when the apartment above her coffee shop came up for purchase by the bank, Mrs. White sold them her old house. It became too much for her to get back and forth to work, Liam explained, because the house was only accessible by crossing the lake on boat, or navigating through miles of the wild, tangled woods that surrounded the house. They spent most of the summer updating the house to comfortably fit more kids, and digging out an escape route through the basement.

The boat bumped up against the opposite shore and Liam jumped out again, dragging it up on land. While Chubs and I waited on the bank, he returned the boat to a small shelter, covering both with a tarp to help keep out the rain. It gave me the perfect opportunity to pull Chubs aside and level him with a look.

“A secret hideaway for kids in the middle of the woods, nestled beside a lake, under the protection of an Orange,” Chubs whispered back at me. “No, this doesn’t feel familiar at all.”

I cringed. “Please don’t repeat that to them.”

“Believe me,” Chubs said, looking over to where a dirt trail curved out from the cover of trees. “I’m not going to say anything.”

That seemed incredibly unlikely.

“This way,” Liam said. “It’s just a quick walk, and Ruby’s standing by with hot chocolate.”

I almost resented Chubs for bringing East River back into my mind. This wasn’t the same at all—with Ruby and Liam running the show, this was going to actually deliver on what East River had promised to be. Plus, instead of many little cabins, there was only one big friendly-looking house. It came into view quickly, as did something else.

“Is that a tree house?” I asked, pointing up at the platform that had been built into a nearby tree.

Liam chuckled. “Yeah. It doesn’t look like much yet, but I thought it would be fun, you know? And if the kids want time alone, they can go there.”

The screen door banged open as Ruby stepped out onto the covered porch. She had an exasperated expression on her face as she held up two umbrellas.

Liam gave her a sheepish look. “I was in a hurry.”

“I set them right by the door,” she said.

“Okay, I got excited and forgot, can you blame me?” Liam said. “We’ve got visitors, darlin’. Come down and say hello.”

She rolled her eyes, opening one of the umbrellas as she came toward us. My heart felt like it was trying to jump free from my chest. The sight of her in her cozy white sweater and red rain boots, her face free of shadows—it was the best reward after all the frustration of waiting and searching. She pushed the other umbrella against Liam’s chest, then wrapped me in her arms.

“You’re frozen to the touch,” she said, trying to fold me in closer. Her sweater was warm, and she smelled sweet, like cinnamon and cloves.

“I like your boots!” I told her.

She shook her head. “Liam’s sense of humor is as good as ever. I’m impressed you resisted the urge to push him into the lake, Chubs.”

He stared at her, looking almost dumbfounded. I understood it completely. It was like coming face-to-face with a different person. I’d never seen her so calm. So peaceful.

“Yes, well,” he managed, finally. “I can’t say the thought didn’t cross my mind once or five dozen times.”

When she moved to hug him, there was no resistance. Chubs held on to her tightly, his face half-hidden by her loose braid.

“For the record, the twirl thing was funny,” Liam insisted.

“I’m sure it was,” Chubs said, finally sounding more like himself, “when it existed only in your mind.”

I let myself relax at the familiar rhythm of the conversation. Ruby kept a hand on Chubs’s back as she led him up the porch and asked him about the drive.

Liam stared after them, his smile fading.

“It’s okay,” I told him quietly. “He was just worried. Give him a little time.”

“That so?” Liam said. He playfully tugged my hat down over my eyes. “Stop reading my mind, will you? There’s only room for one telepath in this house.”

There was a small wooden sign with the word HAVEN hanging above the door. Within seconds of passing through the front entryway, the name became reality. The house was warm and bright, burning away the chill. A delicious buttery smell found its way to us from the kitchen, and I could hear a fire crackling somewhere down the hall.

Ruby pulled off her boots and left them beside three pairs of muddy sneakers. Liam kicked off his beside hers, which was our cue to do the same. As I took off my damp hat and hung it on one of the hooks to dry, voices trickled down from upstairs.

“I put together something that resembles lunch,” Ruby said. “But would you like a quick tour of the house first?”

“Hi!” a voice called from down the hall. I looked up, unsurprised to find three faces watching us. The boy with the dark skin hushed the girl, but she waved, undaunted.

Ruby and Liam shared a warm, knowing look.

“This is Charles and Suzume,” Ruby said. “And that’s Lisa, Miguel, and Jacob.”

All three of them looked about my age, fourteen, but the second, quiet boy, Miguel, was smaller than the other two, which made him seem younger. They joined us on our tour of the upstairs, the boys showing off their bunk beds and the quilts that Ruby’s grandmother had made them. Lisa had her own room, which she didn’t seem entirely happy about.

“It’s only for a little while,” Ruby told her, returning Lisa’s grin with one of her own. She looked to us. “Sam sent us a message about a girl they’re looking after who needs a more permanent situation.”

I heard her, but her words didn’t actually hit me until a second later. I saw the realization register on Chubs’s face as well.

They’d been in contact with Sam and Lucas all this time?

“How are Sam and Lucas?” I asked, hating myself for needing the confirmation. “And Mia?”

“They’re hanging in there,” Liam said. “Mia wants to go back to school, but she can’t without a guardian—well, I don’t need to tell you guys. I think they’re disappointed we had to put a hold on reaching out to the Reds, which is understandable.”

It was the first time I’d seen Ruby’s expression waver. The regret in her eyes was open and aching.

“I think we are all disappointed about that.” It was the first time Chubs had spoken since we’d entered the house. “But at least with an official monitoring system in place, it’s easier to ensure their safety.”

The sound of rain on the roof filled the silence that followed. Liam rubbed the back of his neck, giving Ruby a look I didn’t understand.

Do something, I thought. We needed something, anything but this horrible, stilted quiet.

“If the second floor is for the kids, where’s your space?” I asked.

Liam’s face lost some of its tension. “We put ourselves up in the attic like little mice. Here, I’ll show you.”

After an inspection of their small, cozy bedroom and its shelves of photos and books, the tour took us back downstairs to the living room. In one corner was an ancient-looking television set with some cartoon I didn’t recognize paused mid-scene on it. Just beside it, a stone fireplace was working hard to warm the room and hall. Mrs. White’s taste for shades of evergreen and ivory was on display, and it was clear that they’d inherited all the furniture, drapes, and rugs. While some of it had gone a bit threadbare, it gave the impression of a house that was well-loved. Liam couldn’t have looked prouder of it.

The other kids joined us for lunch, interrupting Liam’s stories with comments of their own. Ruby’s stew was surprisingly delicious for someone who, like the rest of us, had subsisted mostly on prepackaged junk food for close to a year. Clearly, she’d had time to practice.

“Zu, do you want to see the backyard?” Lisa asked. “We just started a garden.”

“Can we finish the movie first?” Jacob said. “We still have a whole hour left.”

“You can see the garden from the living room window. Two birds, one stone,” Miguel said.

“Yeah,” Liam said, rising to put the dishes in the sink. “Why don’t you go with them? Get to know each other a little better?”

I looked up from where I’d been rubbing the fabric of my place mat. Even though I knew it wasn’t true, looking at the other three kids—how they elbowed and poked and glared and laughed at each other—made me feel so much older. The fact that Liam was trying to send me off with them left me feeling like a child dismissed from the table so the adults could talk.

“Maybe later?” I said to them.

Ruby shared another private look with Liam as she rose to pour hot chocolate into a set of mismatched mugs. The teens took theirs as they sped off for the nearby living room.

“Don’t run with—” Ruby cut herself off, shaking her head. “I have never sounded more like my mother in my whole life.”

“How is your family doing? Your dad?” I asked.

Back and forth, we traded updates. I told them about Cate and Vida and Nico and school and all the things that had become routine. I heard about Liam’s family, Ruby’s, and the Children’s League kids who had scattered after the camps fell. The longer we spoke, the more obvious it became that Ruby and Liam had been in contact with seemingly everyone but us.

And the whole time, as promised, Chubs kept his comments to himself. A fact that did not go unnoticed by his best friend.

“All right, Chubs, come out with it,” Liam said. “The last time you were this quiet, it was because you’d burned your tongue so badly on soup that you physically couldn’t speak.”

“Come out with what?” Chubs asked, sipping his cocoa.

“Maybe we should—” Ruby began.

“Whatever superior thought is crossing your mind right now,” Liam said. “Whatever insult you’ve been holding back for the last two hours. You think I don’t know?”

“I think you don’t know me at all anymore,” Chubs said simply.

“There it is,” Liam said, splaying his hands out on the table. “Come on, get it out of your system.”

Even I prickled at his tone. Chubs’s jaw worked back and forth, as if he were grinding the words down.

“It’s been six months,” Liam said. “Look, I’m sorry about the way this all went down. There just wasn’t time to explain. We had to cut and run before it got any worse for us or Ruby’s family.”

“I understand,” Chubs said.

“Do you, though?” Liam said. “Because right now it’s not understanding that’s coming through, it’s your very special form of hostility.”

“It’s not—” I tried.

“Forgive my hostility,” Chubs began, his voice low. “I suppose I’m just wondering why, if the two of you are so happy and settled, you waited until now to finally get in touch to let us know you were still alive.”

Ruby and Liam shared another look.

Chubs’s hand slapped down on the table. “Stop that! Just say it.”

“We wanted to make sure that…” Ruby’s voice trailed off. “We needed time to set this place up, and to get a clear view of what was happening in Washington. Since they don’t seem to have pulled back on the search for us—”

“They haven’t pulled back at all,” Chubs said sharply. “You want to know why Vida couldn’t come? Because the only way she could avoid being detained for obstruction of justice was to agree to join the task force looking for you!”

I didn’t know that. I just assumed she and Cate were working on a number of national security matters, like zone-crossing control.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby said, rubbing at her forehead. “I should have realized something like that would happen.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Liam said vehemently. “Forgive us for thinking our friends might want to come live here with us and do some actual good.”

Some actual good.

The words pierced my anxious swirl of thoughts. Chubs’s whole body stiffened, absorbing that blow.

“You want us to…live here?” I asked, wondering why I couldn’t feel my hands, why my whole body seemed to be going numb.

“Yes,” Liam said. “It’s safer for you. For both of you. Plus, you’ll be with kids your own age. We can figure out a way to get Vida here, too.”

He said it with such sincerity, with all that hope and goodness that was Liam, I couldn’t bring myself to say the words that were locked in my throat.

This was the person who had lifted me out of the snow and carried me to safety.

This was the person who had held me after every nightmare.

This was a person I loved. Who I never wanted to disappoint, not ever.

But the only answer I had to his offer was I’m not a kid.

If I stayed here with them, it would always be this way.

I didn’t want to live outside of the system, not anymore. I didn’t want to live with the uncertainty of one day being discovered. I wanted to be hopeful. I wanted to help make things better for everyone, not just seek safety for myself. Liam and Ruby could help a dozen kids here, but I could help thousands.

I didn’t want to feel powerless anymore.

“I didn’t fight so hard to survive so that I could live out in the woods and commune with nature or whatever bullshit you’re going to accomplish out here,” Chubs said, rising out of his chair.

“Tell me how you really feel,” Liam said, his voice colder than I’d ever heard it. Ruby closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. I wondered if, in that moment, she wanted to disappear. Or if she wanted the rest of us to.

“You’re trying to protect kids? Great. Save them. Be the savior—that was always your favorite role, Liam, because it’s uncomplicated. It doesn’t make you doubt yourself. It doesn’t make you feel bad about having to make hard choices. Meanwhile, the rest of us are back under every lens imaginable, under threat every single day, trying to make actual lasting change happen.”

“Yeah?” Liam said, standing. “And what have you accomplished? Forcing everyone to wear those stupid badges so other people can scorn and belittle them? Making kids go back into the same homes that rejected them in the first place? How are those promised reparations going, by the way? Think we’ll see any sort of apology, any sort of amends by the next century? Or are you going to roll over on that one, too?”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. The world went out of focus. Chubs and Liam stared at each other from across the table, both trying to control their expressions. Finally, Liam turned, disappearing through the living room.

Chubs took one last look at Ruby. Then he was gone, sweeping out of the kitchen. The back door slammed shut. The front door followed a second later. I jumped both times.

Ruby leaned back in her chair, releasing a slow, heavy breath.

“I’m sorry.” The words were strangled by the painful knot in my throat. “I didn’t think it would be like this….”

“This is pretty much exactly how I thought it’d be,” Ruby said faintly. “I knew Chubs would be upset, but I think…I didn’t realized he’d feel so betrayed.”

“You left us,” I whispered. Somehow, I got my feet under me even as it felt like my whole body was dissolving. It was embarrassing to cry, but I couldn’t help myself. This didn’t feel right.

“I did,” Ruby said, her expression crumpling. “I know I did.”

“I can’t stay here,” I told her. “This place is perfect. You will give these kids the love they need. But it’s not for me.”

“I understand,” she said.

Did she? I felt like I needed to explain, like I had to pour my heart out to her so she’d know that I loved her, that I loved him, that I loved the us that used to exist. But I couldn’t be powerless. I couldn’t stay here.

“It’s all right,” Ruby said, coming around the table to hug me. “I promise that it’ll be all right. Everything changes. It has to.”

“Not us,” I cried. “Never us.”

She leaned down, whispering, “It’s painful because we care. Don’t ever stop caring. Don’t let anyone make you cold. You are already the strongest person I know.”

I shook my head as she eased me back, smoothing the stray hairs off my face. “You know where to find us now. You can come back anytime you’d like. No matter what happens, there will always be a place for you here.”

“Will you…will you tell him I’m sorry?” I said, looking in the direction Liam had gone. “He’s going to hate me.”

“He would never,” Ruby said. “Never. I know it seems like…like what we’re doing is small, but this…” She took a deep breath. “I know what people expect from me, what they need from me, but this is what I can offer to the world right now. This is a piece of myself that doesn’t need mending. It doesn’t need to be healed. It’s something new and fragile that I need to protect. I know that might not make sense to you now, but this is my place. Every kid we help puts the pieces of my heart back together.”

I nodded.

“But you find what you’re meant to do,” Ruby said. “I will be there to help you, no matter what.”

It felt like I was leaving my body as we walked toward the front door. Ruby hovered nearby as I slipped my shoes back on. I started to pull my hat off the hook, but stopped myself. “Maybe the new girl will need it?”

Ruby tried her best to smile, pushing back the flood of emotions. Hugging her arms to her chest, she said, “I’ll see you later, okay?”

The possibility was a dream, and I think we both knew that. There could be no casual drop-ins. I wouldn’t be calling them for weekly updates. We’d barely managed to get away this time, and I knew, after the stunt we’d just pulled, there’d be even more focus on our movements.

I looked back at her one last time, my hand on the door.

“Go on,” she said softly. “Chubs needs you.”

The rain had eased up by the time I stepped onto the porch. I waited there, just for a moment, to see if Liam might appear, but Chubs had already gone on ahead. I didn’t want him to leave without me.

Tears blurred again in my eyes as I followed his fresh tracks back down the trail, the cold stinging my cheeks and hands. By the time I reached the lake, Chubs had already dragged the boat toward the water. As my shoes crunched on the pebbles, he spun around, nearly dropping the oars. The look of surprise on his face nearly broke my heart all over again.

Together we eased the boat back into the water and, together, we rowed back to the opposite shore. The fog swirled behind us, erasing the sight of Haven’s trail.

“I hate this rain, you know?” Chubs said, turning his tear-slick face up to the overcast sky. “It just never stops.”