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I don’t have to

I can feel his gaze on s shut behind me

Chapter 4

The te to survive a zo

But if I hide, that means they win

So despite the fact that my skin prickles with nerves every tio about ular routine for the next two days

I’m off work today, which means I actually could refuse to leave my apartaze darts quickly around the street as I head toward the bus stop,into a fist

There’s no sign of Ryland or Marcus or their other friend, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t mean shit

I sit at the back of the bus, which is my usual spot anyway—but today, there’s even more reason for it I want a wall at my back, and I want to be able to keep an eye on the other passengers

Shit For all I know, it’s not just those threefor Marcus because his friend had other shit to do and asked him to

Howme around?

The potential answers to that question do nothing to settle my nerves, so I push them out of my head and dart off the bus quickly when it reaches her onstone steps and take them two at a time

Only once I step inside the dim, quiet space do my nerves unwind a little I know I’m not technically any safer here than I would be anywhere else, but the hushed, hallowed atmosphere calms me a little

Nodding to the librarian at the front desk, Iand head up to the second floor

Since I can’t afford to go to school yet, the library has becoo to make sure I won’t be too far behind when I finally save up enough to afford a college education This branch of the Halston Public Library is old, dingy, and understaffed But it’s big, and it’s got a decent selection of books