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He giggles and then rolls to his side, propping himself up on his elbow "I knoish I was, but fro to be that fond of my colorful personality"

I sit up in the bed, take the elastic out of my hair, and then refasten my ponytail I letabout to Kayden

Seth touches my bottom lip and my initial reaction is to flinch, but I work at it and keep it under control "A penny for your thoughts?"

"It’s nothing" I sigh and flop down on the bed onto be like… seeing his off his face "It’ll be like the first ti to talk to you You have to think of Kayden like a skittish cat If you say the wrong thing, he ht of rins and winks atto claw my eyes out the moment I approached you"

I fluff the pillow and tuck h, and he gets upset?"

He unlatches his watch and rolls to the side to set it on the Tupperware bin next to the bed Then he pivots to his hip and faces s up and slide them underneath the blankets

"How can you be so sure?"

He ser to the tip of my nose "Because he opened up to you the first tis So all you have to do is go there toht" I click the laht filters in through the

"I really hope you are"

"I’," he says, and then squeezes my hand "Just don’t overthink it"

I shut ht that to on the floor Maybe then I can finally get the god-awful ie out of my head

Kayden It’s mid-December, the start of winter break If I weren’t here, I’d be heading home from school, probably with Callie and Luke

It’s weird knowing she’s probably driving into town right now, just getting home, so close to me in distance, and yet she still seems far away, almost unreachable, since I’m stuck in here and she’s out there

I’ve secretly been collecting rubber bands and I have five of the that I broke theivesand it settles me on the inside each ti because ht and has been here for over an hour trying to work things out with the doctor and Doug to geta conversation about ument than a conversation

"But we’ll be there watching him at all ti fingernails Every tis her arms animatedly and alh his yellow-sheeted notebook and reads through his notes "Look, Mrs Owens, I know this must be hard for you, but I don’t think it’s healthy for Kayden to leave the facility just yet In fact, I’d advise against it"

My mother taps her foot on the floor and crosses her arnificant piece of shit "Look, I understand what you advise, but I’d rather not take advice froe"

"I gotout a pen froaze sweeps over him and she elevates her eyebrows

"Really? Then why are you here?"

Doug stays cal down "I "

I think I like Doug at that er under the bands and flip theainst the inside ofin the corner of the rooer one with a lot of tables and chairs scattered around The walls are brick and cracked with old age, but it’sthan the dull white ones in the room Some people eat lunch in here, but I choose to eat in hts and yelling and crying

My ’s chest "Don’t you dare insinuate anything"

"I wasn’t," Doug says sirips the spot on his chest where er "It just seeer to take Kayden out of here when it’s clear he’s not stable"

I scan the scars on e onat the scab that’s underneath it a lot, which is why it’s not healing But it’s a fucking habit and I can’t seem to break it

"He’s perfectly stable," ht slur to her speech and I wonder if the doctor can hear it "And it’s ned him in to be here"

I stand up, stunned "You did that? I thought that was the hospital?"

She glares at ood You needed to be watched for a while, but now… you’ve been here for a little over a week and it’s tiether"

Or kept away fro across the rooo back to school, not back home"

"You can’t," she replies curtly "It’s Christmas break"