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Jessica pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at it for a good tenSed’s number

"Jessica?" Sed answered breathlessly

"Hi"

"Hi"

Silence for a long lanced up at her mother’s house and then at the dashboard "A place to stay," she said in asilence "Do you want to stay with me?"

She nodded, her chest tight Why did she feel like crying?

"Jessica?"

She realized he hadn’t heard thearound in her head when she’d nodded "Yes If you don’t as I know you were just trying to fix things"

"Sometihed It felt good She didn’t understand why it bothered her so ht with him She didn’t like the idea that she had started to care about hiain in such a short ti She didn’t know She just wanted to be with him Even if that meant she had to s her pride, call him, and ask for a place to stay Stupid, Jessica So stupid

"Do you knohere I live? Or do you want me to pick you up?"

"Givehis address on a receipt she’d found in her purse, the front door opened and Ed stepped out on the porch His bulbous eyes brightened when he noticed her sitting in the driveway She lodged the phone between the side of her head and her shoulder, put the car in reverse, and headed back to Sed The lesser of two evils, she told herself, which in no way explained the buoyancy in her heart

Chapter 24

Sed opened the front door to his condoiven Jessica three days and she hadn’t lasted six hours He forced hiloat She cared She did, or she wouldn’t be there He would pretend like he hadn’t been in his car on his way to her mother’s house when she’d called

"Colanced around as she entered, carrying one of the bags from her car Her eyes opened wide in disbelief

"This place is huge!" Her voice echoed slightly in the two-story foyer

"I got a great deal on it It was in foreclosure I paid about half what it’s really worth"