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“Ada up to him

This time I don’t hesitate I don’t think I slide my hands up to his neck and pull hiainst his and he responds i his arms around my waist Our kiss is desperate, intense, like we know this ht be our only chance He holdsinside ether we’re a bonfire in theto Adam, suddenly, more than ever, I want to live

13:28

The others don’t say anything e get back in the car, but fro’s changed Chris has fixed the car’s navigation, and once we punch in Lynne’s naain

Adalance at hi is between us now, but opening up to Ada I didn’t knoas caged I’e our future

I slide h He tenses, but then I feel his fingers wrap around mine We stare forith our hands secretly locked between us, the rest of the car oblivious to the fire racing up hby the time we reach Lynne’s house in Malibu Her place is at the end of a little cul-de-sac that butts right up against the ocean It’s not as big as Adae with a sandblasted look, as though the wind and salt water have worn the paint down to al

The door opens the second we pull into the driveway, like she’s been waiting for us Lynne stands on the porch, and you can barely tell any years have passed from the Lynne of our time Her hair is almost exactly the sahts She has wrinkles around her eyes but not asit’s been thirty years I wonder if she’s had some work done

“Oh my God” She covers her mouth with her hand, shock etched on her face “Adauess I never truly believed it until now”

“He told you ere co all day for you” She stares at each of us in turn, like she can’t believe she’s not in a dream “I always knew the accelerator worked, but to see real proof right in front of me…I’m sorry Please, please co room that smells faintly of cinna s Seeing the dark water crash against the shore only feet away brings back the ied by the waves I shudder and turn away

“Can I get you anything?” Lynne asks “So to drink or eat or…?”

“Coffee would be nice,” Trent says with a yawn

“Of course You poor things, you ive me a minute”

She disappears into her kitchen, and we spread out around her white-and-blue furniture She’s taken the beach theme a little far, with seashells on the table and a dolphin sculpture in the corner Even her flexi has a little orange starfish on it

There are framed photos all around the rooraduation At her wedding In doctor’s scrubs giving a thumbs-up With her husband and two kids at Disneyland

One larger fraet a better look It’s a collage, with a bunch of photos of the girl when she was younger, ranging from baby photos to prom photos In some of the earlier ones she’s in a hospital bed, like she was sick a lot, but she’s always shter,” Lynne says behind s and sets it down on the table “She’s a pediatrician now”

We each take a , and after one sip I already feel a lot warmer I don’t drink much coffee, but I’m so tired I can barely think We’ve all been awake for way too long, and we’re running on nothing but fumes and adrenaline at this point But there’s no time to sleep—so coffee it is