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I see what the purpose does to her

Gives her so more than just Ivy and me to live for

After being with Dad for so long, she needed to fill the void he left in his absence

She’s reat friends and is happy

Just as I suspected, I find her in the rotunda

She’s kneeling on the floor, gloves on, looking at her plants With her hands pressed together at a ste to them

“Everything okay?” I ask

“I’m afraid this one has rust”

“What does that mean?”

“It ht spread and harm the rest”

I sit beside her, staring at the thing, not sure what I’ at “What will you do?”

“I’ll try to separate it” She fusses with the stem “See if I can heal it on my own”

“And if you can’t? What if what infects itcan’t go away?”

Her hands stop, and she turns to look at me The blues of her eyes meet mine “Why are you here, Trent? It’s late”

“Can’t I just be here to see my mother?”

She raises her brow

She knows me too well

“Is this about the girl? I saw her here Apparently, you want her to clean toilets”

Margret The blabbermouth

“It’s not about her,” I lie

She nods But I know she doesn’t believe me

She goes back to her plant “We can remove the plant Distance it Allow it time to heal on its own”

“And if the time away doesn’t help?”

She sighs “Then there is no helping the plant”

“And then what happens?”

“It dies alone”

33

Payton

I’ a baby, but I’ve never left a place faster than I left Trent’s

I don’t knohat part is driving me out of my mind more—the fact that he kissed me or the fact that he pushed

He treatshim Like his only objective is to swat and kill me

It sucks

Majorly