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Chapter One

Natasha

“Truth or dare?” Suzanna asks ives her away

I rollto be annoyed with my best friend

“Suze We’ve played eye-spy, counted railway crossings and now you wanna keep up with truth or dare?” I ask, hearing my voice move up to a steady whine

Long haul, cross-country train rides aren’t my idea of fun

Oh wait, this was my idea

Short airplane flights in cattle class are a thousand tie had to be land-based travel only

I thought a train trek withwe’d remember for the rest of our lives

Like a mini-vacation

Romantic even

I think we’ll reht reasons if Suze insists on playing duames the whole way

“Truth or dare?” Suzanna says again, iame

I try to growl in frustration, but Suze’s face is so funny, so serious that I just have to laugh

In no ti why

I’ve never had so much fun with Suzanna as on this trip home and it’s still only our first day

I’veher every day for four years but she’s still my bestie

Alill be, no matter what

Just when it feels like she’s gonna start up again with truth or dare, I hearout in for the afternoon

Train travel isn’t popular anyot lucky But we have what looks like a whole car to the three of us so far, and the sleeper is just us too by the looks

It feels like we have the whole train to ourselves, but mom, who likes to explore, tells us both otherwise

There are other people on the train, but not many One, in particular, she starts to mention, but blushes

“You see so you liked?” Suzanna teases my mom, but I let her

Anything to get me out of another round of truth or dare is fine with me

Mo

“Oh no, Suze… You know I’s up with Neil,” she says with a dreamy look

Neil is my dad

When he was there that is