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Spotting a black t-shirt at the top of the pile, I snatched it up ihed "Gem"

"It ain "Fine But could you at least wear a skirt or so?"

I shook my head "I hate skirts"

"You knohen you were little, you used to run around in dresses all the time"

I stared at her, confused "I don’t rereen eyes ide She’d said so she wasn’t supposed to

"What?" I asked "What is it?"

"Nothing" She quickly shook her head "It’s nothing" She started to search through the pile of clothes again

"It’s so the black t-shirt to my chest "Whatever it is, you need to tella pair of denim shorts at me "Gemma Please just drop it"

"How do you expect me to--"

"Please," she said in a quiet, but firrinded my teeth and snatched the pair of shorts out of her hand "Fine" I turned for the door, but stopped just short of it "Where should I change?"

"There’s a bathrooht"

Dazed, and a little out of it, I ended up passing the bathroom and had to retrace e behavior, after she’d said that I used to run around in dresses, had ure out why she’d freaked out Why was it so bad for her todresses when I was a child? For now, though, all I could do onder

So that I didn’t tear my stitches open, I had to be careful as I slipped out of my blood-stained shirt and pulled on the black tee But when I went to tug the shorts on, I realized the "shorts" Aislin had given me weren’t shorts at all, but a deniht have loved to wear dresses when I was little, but that didn’t ue out at the skirt before reluctantly putting it on

When I’d finished getting dressed, I splashed so myself out of this drearoups who saved the world weren’t supposed to exist They couldn’t exist There was no way It was all too unreal--too science fiction They key word here being "fiction"

But after I’d patted my face dry and opened my eyes, the same navy blue walls of Laylen’s bathroo above the sink and sighed at the sight ofback at y that had created the color Hoas I supposed to kno much of my reflection was me? And how much of it was the stars?

A knock at the door startled o?" Aislin asked

I blinked one last ti away from it

Chapter 17

Laylen drove a 1960’s Black Pontiac GTO hite racing stripes strea down thefor classic cars So moment between the two of them, when Alex had first seen the "beautiful" car

I was starting to figure out that guys were kind of weird

But anyway…

Their bonding moment quickly ca down the dirt road with nothing more than the roar of the tires to fill the silence

Laylen’s house was located in the et to the freeway I was sitting in the back seat, watching the stars streak across the sky in shades of violet and silver Alex had insisted that no one else could sit besidesafer that way in case the Death Walkers tried to a in the back seat of a two-door vehicle during an aes eventhe electricity to crackle like a wildfire My skin was getting hot and sweaty, and I felt like I was burning up with a fever Fortunately, I discovered that, even in the desert, the air cooled during the night and chilled the s

I hadasleep, when Alex asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to sleep," Iup," he remarked

I heard hi I knew he’d pressed the palhI needed was for him to touch me

I turned my head to look at him He’d narrowed the distance between us so drastically that, even through the darkness, I could see his eyes assessingif you have a fever"

"I don’t have a fever," I argued, sliding my forehead out from under his hand

But his hand followedit come to rest on my cheek "You’re skin feels really warm"

"That’s because I a me just makes it worse" I tilted my face and his hand fell to his lap "You’re too hot" As soon as I said it, I immediately wanted to slapwith you Gemma? "I-I didn’t mean it like that," I stammered And I really didn’t I swear