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I get a little uneasy as we veer toward two subjects I hate My diabetes and needles "Yeah, it doesn’t do any good when there’s alcohol in my system"

"But usually you use a needle"

"Yeah" My throat feels thick

"Does it hurt?"

"So on my mood"

She observes me briefly then drops the subject

"So where’s the box heading?" I ask, patting the bottolances over her shoulder at the"Outside, I guess"

I nod, and then head out into the hall She followsthe door behind her As alk to the elevator I try not to think about the fact that after I get done helping her, I’ure out what to do with lance around the parking lot There are hardly any cars left on campus

"So which car ae of the curb and bites her lips as she looks at the road to the side of us "You can just set it down here"

I lower the box onto the concrete, lost "Is so," she mutters and plops down on the box She props her elbow on her knee and her hair falls to the side of her face, veiling her expression fro slide off her sluo now"

I lean forward and try to catch her eye, but she won’t look atI want to know and that’s not a good thing because it gives her soin to back up the sidewalk and force o back to h to pull ht of her, I spot her lowering her head onto her ar so defeated I know I can’t leave her like this

I backtrack ?"

Her chest rises and falls as she sighs deeply, keeping her face buried in her arms "I have no idea"

I feel the faintest acceleration in my pulse as I crouch down beside her and sweep her hair out of her face "Do you need me to take you soht" What the hell aled toward me "I don’t need a thank-you," she says "I just need a ride… somewhere"

Despite ive her a ride as thanks for getting ht and for helping lucose pills in o?"

"Just outside of town" She opens her eyes and her pupils shrink as the sun hits the any e in her: the very fa that drove ht "It’s on one of the back roads just off the freeway… you take the road where the strip club is," she says

"Why were you walking down that road last night? And what made you stop at the strip club?"

"A freakish coincidence," she states, searching er across her cheekbone and she doesn’t flinch or ht "I’ you," she jokes dryly, then shuts her eyes again "I have a headache," shein and out

I watch her sink farther and farther into herself, her lips part as she forces air into her lungs It’s like watching someone break apart and I’m not sure if I want to fix her, try to catch the pieces, or step back and let theto make her feel better, more than I need to make myself stay under control, I start to lean in toward her, to either kiss her or hug her… needing to touch her again… comfort her She holds completely still, her expression neutral but her eyes widen I still haveher breathing to quicken Her chest rises and falls and ih ht in ain and reme of us together I’ her off This is no longer just about ers fros to stand up "Do you want et o back to that place I used to live hen I was a kid andinvolved with so up total control

She watchesh her hair as she rises to her feet "No, I can get it" She bends over and scoops the box up Even though I can tell it’s a little heavy for her, I let her carry it to the truck, putting a much-needed boundary line between us It’s the line I put up between hto go to that place I lived for so many years The one where I feel lost The one where I’

Violet

I think he ht have almost just kissed h his energetic pulse in his fingers I’lad he didn’t otherwise I would’ve had to hurt hiure I’er under control today and I’ht with him I don’t even know if he can reme behind it And if he’s forgotten, then I’ I wish I could do that with everything; what happened with Preston, that I have no ho my ass down to the police station and face my parents’ reopened case alone, like I’ve done with everything inand inchI could fall and everything would end

The longer I sit in the truck with Luke, thethis unsettling feeling about going to Preston’s house and facing whatever’s waiting there forif I should just grab my boxes and bail Just leave before Preston can tell me to Go live in the ditch just a little ways down the road

"Thanks for the ride," I mutter to Luke as he parks the truck behind Preston’s Cadillac