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"Late Early Sorry"

"No, it’s okay You had another dream with Vivian?"

"Yeah"

"What did she say?"

"She said I was getting brighter" I looked at him, worried and nervous

"Well, my soul’s still co you"

I nodded, even though my quick, nervous checks every day in the shower ht Even Lend had coht thatelse?"

"She was mad that I haven’t told her where I am She’s really sad She’s so lonely" I felt horrible re the look in her eyes "She said she’ll find h I told her I didn’t want her to"

"She hasn’t found you yet"

"No, and she see spree she went on, I think it was aboutfor IPCA They ured sooner or later it’d draw --" I paused, thinking about it "I don’t think she’dto kill me when she broke into the Center But now she wants us to, I don’t know, hang out Kill paranor time"

"Shouldn’t faeries be able to find you really easily?" He looked worried

I shrugged against the pillow "I don’t know Maybe it’s because I’ve been carrying around bread like your dad said? Or so? I have no idea why they haven’t been able to find me But I’m really worried--what if she comes here? What if she hurts you? Or Arianna, or Nona, or any of the other paranorer It would be ive myself"

Lend shook his head "You aren’t responsible for anything that she does And I really think that if she hasn’t found you yet, she isn’t going to"

We kept saying that, and the more times I heard it, the better it sounded, but that didn’t settle the nagging worry bubbling inin a sinian town forever?

I wouldn’t et how sad she was "I never thought I’d be grateful for my childhood, but poor Vivian I know she’s crazy and a killer, but she’s never had anyone Ever I wish there was some way I could help her, you know?"

"I know But you’ve got to re she tells you is probably a lie"

I s You couldn’t fake that kind of pain and loneliness He didn’t understand--he’d always had someone I wondered what I would be like if I had been raised by faeries Iton spending the rest of the night in here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow

I narrowednot to shed "Well then, let et back to the my head, I leaned in and kissed hi hi the night in there, but I wanted to take it slow and figured sleeping in the same bed wasn’t a really sain on Easton Heights--when the couples hooked up too soon it never ended well Plus, I didn’t think his dad would like it very much and I wasn’t about to pushti Lend went to school I stayed home, like I did most days, to work on my schoolwork and study for the SATs It was so bizarre I wanted to laugh While Vivian and her faeries plottedvocabulary words Norer than paranor?" David asked, fixing himself a sandwich for lunch

"I have a question if you’ve got ati, but I’ll try to help"

"Oh, no, not about the test I was just wondering, kind of worrying actually About faeries How do they find you? Ifor me, would they knohere I was?"

"I don’t think so I know if faeries have so of yours, usually an important possession or part of your body"--he saw er or toe, they can always find you And if you call them, of course But if youpeople If, for example, they know your full name, then it would be simple"

I frowned I didn’t know my real full name I was pretty sure IPCA didn’t, either, and Vivian’s faeries wouldn’t Then I re me my name someday A cold chill settled between my shoulder blades That must have been why he always seemed to know exactly where I was in the Center "Any other ways?"

"If faeries really wanted to find you, they probably could Which means they already would have" He smiled "I’ve already worried about all this for you and I don’t think it’s an issue You’re safe fro it was IPCA I was afraid of No, I orried about rabbed another slice of bread and shoved it in o on forever

Soh