Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

TAM

63 bobas left until they both die … (the same day)

The alarm on my phone wakes me up, and I come to inside the Firebird with my phone sitting in the cupholder and absolutely no sign of Lakelynn Frost.

I sit up quickly and grab my phone, turning the alarm off and then checking my messages. There’s a text from my phone to Jacob that says: he’ll be in the parking garage, top floor, space twelve, in about thirty minutes. And then a string of cursing and vitriol from Jacob that I ignore.

Headed home safe. Talk to you soon. From Lake.

I respond to her first, adjusting quickly to the new scenario. It’s what I do best. I can sleep anywhere, for any amount of time, and wake up in an instant.

Where are you? I ask, hitting send and then staring at my phone for a response. She’s quick, at least, sending me a selfie of her on a bus with an old woman on her right. They’re both waving at me.

On the bus. Made a friend though. It’ll go quick.

I drop my phone to my lap.

I just drove ten hours to suck a girl off, and then basically threw myself at her.

Sleep has cleared my brain up a little. But just a little.

With a sigh, I open the door and climb out, only to run right into Jacob and Daniel.

“Mr. Eyre,” Jacob says through gritted teeth. “Next time you choose to simply leave without telling anyone, don’t bother coming back.”

I laugh, but he doesn’t seem to think it’s a joke.

“I’m turning twenty-seven years old next month, Jake. If I want to disappear for a day, I should be able to. I didn’t miss any appointments, did I? I’m back now, aren’t I? Let me shower real quick, and we’ll go straight to the site.”

We’re filming a night scene in the woods. Should be fun. It’s playful and flirty, and if I need inspiration, I’ll just channel Lake into my thoughts.

She didn’t have an orgasm. I should’ve been able to make her come.

I exhale and then head for the elevator. Daniel doesn’t say a word, but the angrier Jacob is, the more he talks.

“What did I tell you about that girl? Have you lost your mind? If she turns on you after what happened, you’re in big trouble.”

“I gave her oral as soon as I got to her house, no worries. We’re even.” I’m grinning as I step into the elevator, and Jacob doesn’t follow. Daniel does. I hold out my hand to stop the doors. “What’s wrong? You’re not getting on with us?”

“I’ll take the fucking stairs,” Jacob hisses, and then he disappears around the corner.

“For once, I absolutely have an opinion on something,” Daniel murmurs, but he doesn’t tell me what that opinion is. I assume he approves because he has an odd half-smile on his usually stoic face. He told me he liked Lakelynn before anyway.

I lean back against the wall, arms crossed, and I realize that I went chasing after Lake … but that I didn’t catch her. Not yet.

As long as that mark is still on her wrist, we have a ways to go.

62 bobas left until they both die …

I’m lying on my back in my hotel room, alone. I have a stress ball that says I Heart Tam on it. I’m tossing it into the air and catching it. There’s a knock at the door which is quickly followed by the sound of a successful keycard swipe.

It’s Jacob.

He comes over to stand beside the bed, arms crossed.

“Filming is cancelled for the next two days. Storm warning.”

I stop throwing the ball. Lake’s birthday is tomorrow. I should go.

“What’s on the schedule then?” I ask, and Jacob sighs.

“Nothing but thunderstorms, strong winds, and heavy rain.” He’s still angry with me, so he doesn’t elaborate beyond that. “The director will call ahead of time if she changes her mind and decides on a virtual script reading. But at this point, it’s an action scene, and she doesn’t think it’ll be necessary.”

I tuck the stress ball in my pocket, right next to the keys for the Thunderbird.

This feels like fate. A cursed meet-cute, maybe? I can drive back to Lake, and I won’t even be breaking any prior promises.

I’ve spent plenty of time thinking about the curse, and here’s my conclusion. Either it’s real, and we’re both going to die in a few months if I don’t try my best to get to know her. Or, it’s fake, and I get to know her and see if we’re meant to be together anyway. I’ve never gone through this with another woman before, so this is as good a chance as any to see if I can be a boyfriend to someone.

I failed Kaycee Quinn, but that’s because I should never have agreed to date her in the first place.

With Lake, it’s more than just a want, it’s a need that digs down, all the way to the bones.

I’m Tam Eyre. I can do anything. I can get Lakelynn to fall in love with me.

“I’m going back to Arkansas,” I tell Jacob, and he groans in agony.

“Dear God, what the hell happened to you? Weren’t you wary of this girl just a few weeks ago? She creeped you out enough that you asked me to have her job at the venue reassigned. You avoided your fans because you were trying to stay away from her. What is all of this?”

I sit up in the bed and swing my legs over the side, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. It’s three in the morning. If I start driving now, I can realistically get to Lake’s house by two, assuming I don’t take long breaks.

“I’m telling you that I’m going, Jake. I’m not running away. That’s an improvement, don’t you think?” I stand up and start stuffing loose items into my bag, just enough for a single night. I’ll find myself a hotel, so I’m not imposing too much on Lake’s family.

I grab the journal that Lake gave me, and I rub my thumb over the cover before adding it to the bag.

Jacob is bitching at me, but I’m only half-listening. I do care about what he has to say, but I’m also allowed to have a life. I’ve never let myself have one before, so as long as it doesn’t interfere with my career, I want one now.

If our shoot is cancelled for a few days, then I have a few days to myself. Why shouldn’t I go see Lake?

In the journal, she wrote down the rules for her family’s curse. My favorite was number ten: if you are matched with an international superstar like Thomas “Tam” Eyre, you’re screwed. My lips twitch.

Some of her entries were upsetting to read, especially the one that she wrote after she left the rental house.

“My Match makes me feel worthless. I like him, but I like myself, too. I don’t want to learn to accept mistreatment because of the curse. Maybe I should just go home?”

I breathe out and close my eyes, hand resting on the zipper of my bag.

“Daniel and I are coming with you,” Jacob says as I open my eyes back up. He’s standing in the doorway between the bedroom part of the suite, and the living room/kitchen area. “Non-negotiable.”

“That’s fine. I need someone to drive the company car down with me, so that I can leave the Firebird there.”

“Why would you leave the—” Jacob starts, and then he drops his head into his hand, massaging his forehead. “You are not giving that girl your car. I can’t believe you even bought the damn thing in the first place.”

I unwrap some caffeinated gum, pop it into my mouth, and grab a water bottle. I’ve got my duffel bag over my shoulder, and I’m stuffing my feet into my shoes.

“Let’s leave in the morning,” Jacob pleads, when he realizes that I’m not going to change my mind about this. “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Thunderstorms. Wind. Rain. It’s dangerous.”

“I’m leaving, Jacob. You guys can leave in the morning.” I slip on a black face mask and a ballcap before heading out the door and leaving in the direction of the parking garage.

61 bobas left until they both die …

It might be stormy in Georgia, but it’s nice and sunny in the Arkansas Ozarks. I open my car door and spot a blue butterfly on some black-eyed Susans in a neighbor’s front yard. There’s no space in the driveway—there’s even a truck on the Frost’s front lawn—so I park on the sidewalk, grab the bow I purchased on my way here, and then I stick it to the hood.

I’ve got something else, too: a sticker that I bought at a boba shop on the drive. It says: Boba is my thing. I stick it to the bumper, and then I start down the sidewalk, taking off my hat and mask as I go.

Joules is waiting for me near a gate that must lead to the backyard.

His arms are crossed over his chest, and he has a devious smirk on his face that puts me immediately on edge.

This is it, Tam. Put your money where your mouth is.

I hop over a flower bed and waltz through the grass, past the truck, pausing in front of Lake’s brother.

“I do believe that you were specifically not invited,” Joules says as I pause about two feet in front of him. It’s so beautifully normal here in the early summer sunshine, the large tree above us rustling gently in the wind, a neighbor washing his car on the other side of the short fence that’s to my left. “If Lake wanted you here, don’t you think she would have said something?”

I brace myself for what’s coming.

“You’re right,” I tell him, and he gives me an odd look. “I deserve it. Hit me.”

There’s a long pause there, and I realize that the raucous laughter I’m hearing is coming from the backyard, just beyond the wooden gate behind Joules. I can hear Lakelynn now, too.

I’m a fucking adult. I can handle the consequences of my actions.But I don’t really think Joules is going to do it, especially after Lake asked him not—

Joules swings, and he nails me in the right cheek, hard enough to snap my neck to the side and send me stumbling.

I put my hand up on the wood of the fence, panting and holding my palm to my face. When I pull it away, I see plenty of blood on my fingers. It’s a fair trade, considering what Daniel did to Joules, but … I’m supposed to be filming a drama. I have a concert next week with seventy-thousand eager fans who will be in attendance.

But … I’m okay. I stand up and work my jaw, licking blood from the edge of my mouth. In one hit, I feel the pain in my lips, my cheek, my nose, and my eye. Not even sure how that’s possible. Joules shakes out his fist with a sigh and looks me over with narrowed eyes.

“You told my virgin sister to get on her knees and suck your dick because you were in a bad mood.” Joules gives a hollow laugh, and then scowls at me. “You left her standing in the rain for an hour. You blocked her number for no reason at all. You’re lucky I don’t tell my dad and uncles the specifics of what you did, or you wouldn’t make it to see the end of the curse.”

“First time in my entire life that I’ve gotten into a fight with another guy,” I admit aloud, ignoring most of what Joules just said. He isn’t wrong. But I also know how to do a pretty spectacular grovel. I live and breathe romance for a living. I’m supposed to be every woman’s boyfriend. This is what I do, and for the first time ever, it’s pouring out of me on accident.

“Took one on the chin. Good for you. You’re all grown-up.” Joules snorts and turns to unlock the gate. He walks in, cupping his hands around his mouth to call out to his family. “We’re gonna need some ice packs from the fridge!”

I follow after him, coming around the side of the house to see about two dozen people gathered in the yard. They’re scattered around picnic tables that are set in a circle around a tree with fading pink blossoms and heart-shaped leaves. Lake is sitting in front of that tree with a pile of gifts in the dirt beside the trunk, burning an incense stick, and eating a hamburger.

She turns to glance absently over her shoulder, and then she sees me.

“What the fuck?!” She drops her hamburger onto her plate and then scrambles to her feet, snatching up a packet of wet wipes on her way over to me. I have blood dripping down my chin now and onto the peach-colored T-shirt I’m wearing.

Still, I can’t stop myself from smiling at her.

“Happy birthday,” I tell her, appreciating that the shorts she’s wearing are the same ones I put my mouth on.

“Joules, what the fuck did you just do?” Lake punches her brother in the shoulder hard enough that he grunts, and then she’s taking the wet wipes and carefully wiping some of the red from my face. “He’s an actor, Joules. He’s a celebrity. You can’t just punch a celebrity in the face.”

“Before he’s all that, he’s a man.” Joules shrugs one shoulder, and Lakelynn grits her teeth. “He paid for what he did, so we don’t need to talk about it anymore. I’ll give him a clean slate.” He smirks at me and then saunters past as a woman holding an ice pack comes out the back door of the house.

“Oh my goodness, you poor thing. What happened?” The woman takes the wet wipes from Lake and hands over the ice pack and a rag. Lake carefully wraps it up into a cool, little bundle, and then presses it gently against the side of my face.

I wince, but I can’t take my eyes off hers. She looks worried, upset on my behalf.

“Your son punched my Match in the face,” Lake accuses, and then the woman stops looking so worried for me. Her eyes narrow, and I realize that Lake was telling the truth. She has no privacy. Everyone here knows what happened between us.

I look up and past Lake’s face toward her family members, all of whom are staring at us.

The yard is completely silent now.

“What are you doing here?” Lake whispers, leaning in toward me.

“There’s a storm in Atlanta, so we can’t film any of our on-location scenes. The rest of the drama is being shot in LA, so there’s nothing else to do. Basically, I got two surprise days off.”

Lake exhales, and then takes my hand, dragging me past her gaping family members and into the house. She sits me down in the same chair that I used to go down on her, and starts to play nurse for me in a way that makes my chest feel tight.

“That stupid prick. I’ll beat him up later for this,” she grumbles, snatching a first-aid kid from under the sink. Lake uses alcohol swabs to clean the cut on my lip and cheek. She uses her finger to rub antibacterial gel on next, and my breath huffs out in a rush. “Let me get you some painkillers. Your face is going to swell up.”

Lake disappears into the bathroom, grabbing some water from the kitchen before she offers up both the glass and the pills to me. I take both pills and swallow them dry. But since Lake went to the trouble to get the water, I drink that, too.

“Are you staying the night in town?” she asks, and I nod.

“I’m going to stay at a hotel with Daniel and Jacob. They should be right behind me.”

Lake reaches up with her hand, like she’s going to sweep her hair back or something. But her fingers are covered in blood, so I don’t let her. I grab her wrist and then bring her fingertips to my mouth. I suck on them, and she recoils from me like I’ve slapped her.

“Tam. Thomas. Sir Tom. What are you doing?”

“It’s my blood,” I remind her, but that doesn’t help. She rolls her eyes, and I wonder what it is that she doesn’t like. I sit back in the chair, pressing the ice to my face and closing my eyes. This is going to hurt worse tomorrow, I think. It’s going to be hell on earth when Jacob sees your face. I don’t know how this is going to affect my schedule.

“Tam, I …” Lake trails off, putting her hands on her hips as she studies me. “Why don’t you stay here tonight?” I blink at her, and she must sense the direction of my thoughts because she’s quick to add, “in a spare bedroom.”

“Obviously a spare bedroom,” I tease, leaning back in the chair and letting my knees fall open. It’s just a comfort thing, just an accident, but there are so many implications between the way I’m sitting, and my rapidly evolving relationship with the woman standing in front of me. “Where else would I sleep? Not your bedroom, of course.”

Lake opens her mouth to reply, but a knock at the front door interrupts us.

“Might be Jake and Daniel,” I tell her, and she nods, moving over to check the peephole. She opens the door nice and wide, and gestures them in.

“Welcome, and please don’t be alarmed. It looks worse than it is.” Lake bites her lip as Jacob sees me and nearly has a heart attack.

“Mr. Eyre, care to explain to me how you’ve found yourself in such a state?”

“Stop talking like that,” I groan, sitting up straight as Daniel makes his way slowly over to me. He reaches down and takes my chin, examining the damage to my face, and then he nods.

“Probably about what you deserved,” he remarks, and Lake sighs dramatically.

“I never asked for this; I don’t want this. Whatever you’re doing with Joules, that’s your own thing.”

“I want him to like me,” I admit, and Lake flushes beautifully. I smile at her, and she stays toward the edges of the room like she doesn’t know what to do with all of the attention.

“Your mother is going to lose her mind over this,” Jacob is grumbling, and he’s right. She will. I’ve never been punched in the face before. Many have tried, but Daniel’s always been there to help out. Not today. This was my own thing, and I handled it. “What are we going to do?”

“Well, hello there.” A man has just walked in from out back wearing a Frost Family Construction T-shirt. He eyes me with a dangerous glint but smiles so broadly that I’m sure I must’ve imagined it. “I’m Cooper Frost, Lakelynn’s dad.”

Oh.

Shit.

I stand up from the chair, ice pack still on my face.

“Tam Eyre,” I tell him, moving forward to hold out my hand. The man draws me into a big hug, and then gives my back a pat. Jacob is panicked by the time he releases me, but Daniel is relaxed. He knows by now what I want with these people, and it’s not a bodyguard.

“You’re doing the right thing, son,” he tells me, and I find that I’m weirdly excited by his praise. Maybe this is the result of me not having a dad of my own, but I feel immediately comfortable with this guy. “Believing in the curse is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Too many times. I won’t see it end my daughter.”

“I won’t let us die,” I promise him. I came here ready to put my all into Lakelynn. That hasn’t changed.

Her dad seems satisfied, nodding and then looking past me to the other two men in his living room. Introductions are made, and Cooper asks Jacob and Daniel outside to eat.

Daniel makes Jacob go with him, and Lake and I are left alone again.

“Do you have a bag? I’ll show you to your room so that you can wash up.” She gestures at my shirt, and I take her outside and down the block to where I’m parked. Lake has a lot of family over at her house right now. This whole street is filled with the Frost family’s cars.

She’s barefoot which I love, padding through the grass and over the sun-warmed pavement like it’s nothing. She pauses beside the Firebird and gives the bow a skeptical look.

“What is this?” she asks as I come up beside her and unlock the doors, popping the trunk, and then sticking the keys into the pocket of her shorts. Her eyes come up to meet mine, standing above her with my fingers tucked inside the denim at her hip. I twitch my fingers, and she shudders. “I won’t let you give me a car.”

“It’ll be a pain in the ass for me to get it back to California anyway. Even then, I spend maybe one month out of the year at my own house. It’s better off here. It’ll get more use here.” I pull my fingers from her shorts as she looks down at the car, wetting her lips. She wants to tell me no, but she also really likes this car.

“If I’m going to die in August, I should at least have a nice ride, shouldn’t I?” Lake follows me around to the trunk to grab my bag, and then witnesses the sticker I stuck to the bumper for her. “What are you doing to me, Tam Eyre? I don’t understand.”

“I promised your dad just now that I’d break the curse. More importantly, I promised you that we’d break the curse. So, let’s break it. You said you wanted me to show you who I was, so I am. That’s what I’m doing.”

I turn to her, a basketball bouncing down the sidewalk beside me. Someone down the street honks their horn, and I hear the sound of a front door opening, the pounding of sneakers on a cement walkway.

“Come on. You can’t wear blood to meet Joe.” Lake takes me by the hand, and I curl my fingers into hers. She drags me back to the house, and then to a room on the second floor. I immediately tear my shirt over my head, and she whirls around, turning her back to me.

Hmm.

I ball the bloodied shirt up in my hand.

“Okay, all dressed,” I tell her, and she turns back to see that I’m still shirtless.

I smile.

“That isn’t fair,” she moans, but she keeps her eyes on me as I tuck my dirty shirt into a side pocket on my bag, and then find a clean one to put on instead.

I walk over to where she’s standing in the doorway, and it’s an effort not to touch her.

“What do you mean by meet Joe?” I ask, and Lake exhales, taking my hand again. She guides me outside and past her other family members, straight to the tree with the pink blossoms on it. Lake gestures at it. “After my cousin died, we had him go through this process called human composting. In forty-five days, a body is turned to dirt. That dirt is what this redbud tree is planted in. So we use this tree as a gravestone for my cousin, Joe. I told you that he died from the curse.” Lake turns to me and holds out a hand. “Joe, this is Tam. Tam, this is Joe.”

“Joe wouldn’t have liked him either,” Joule says, strolling up to stand beside me. He turns to look at me and shrugs. “It’s true. We were very protective of our girl. Then I let Joe die, and all of that focus and love I had for him got piled on her. That makes this all very hard for you, I get it.” Joules looks back at Joe again and sighs.

There’s something in his eyes that I didn’t notice before. Grief? That’s why he’s so angry, because he’s so sad. I adjust the ice pack against my face.

“Joe would’ve let me lead the way. If I wanted him to punch Tam then he’d have punched Tam, but if—like I did with you—I asked him not to, he’d have respected that.” Lake moves up to stand a little closer to me, her shoulder brushing mine. “Do you want a hamburger? A hot dog? It doesn’t get much fancier than that unless you want a tofu burger. Aunt Lisa wraps hers with lettuce, too, so you’d be in good company.”

“I … that would be nice actually.” I turn around to see that the whole family is watching me. It’s her mom and a guy everyone calls ‘Uncle Rob’ who are the most put off by me. Everyone else seems nice.

“My dad is full of shit,” Lake whispers as she leans in toward me suddenly, cupping a hand around my ear. The feel of her skin on mine causes my eyes to close on their own. On her tiptoes beside me, leaning in, breasts soft against my arm.

The wind blows, knocking her hair and some of the redbud tree petals against my face.

“He hates you, but he wants to break the curse, so he’s going out of his way to be nice to you. I’d watch out for that one, Tam Eyre.” Lake drops back down to her feet, and then takes me by the arm. I like that she only touches me if it’s the most, innocent casual thing in the world or like she’s drowning under the weight of the tension between us. Nothing in-between. It’s dizzying, and exciting, and I see why people are so addicted to the idea of romance.

It’s a rush. It’s standing before a stadium filled with people chanting your name. It’s going outside and seeing the whole world look back at you. It’s posting a video and watching the views skyrocket into the millions. I imagine that it’s as painful as all that, too. With such a high reward, there’s always a high price.

I know that better than anyone.

So, that’s what love is? Fuck. Have I been portraying it correctly all these years? In my songs, in the romance dramas that I star in. I want to figure that out for myself.

Lake introduces me to the rest of her family, and then we spend the next five hours hanging out in a backyard with a tree named Joe.

61 bobas left until they both die … (the same day)

The Frost house is busy until late in the evening, and then everyone goes home, and it’s just Lake, Joules, and their parents. It feels so quiet after all the people that were outside with us earlier.

I’m sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea in front of me and Lakelynn’s mother in the chair on my left.

She’s sewing a button onto a shirt.

“I have to go into the office tomorrow,” she says, and I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or just everyone in general. Joules is in the kitchen wrapping up leftovers, and Lake is walking behind him and unwrapping everything in search of the cake.

Joules slaps at her hand.

“There’s only one slice left, and it’s mine. I’m the one who got curse-matched, not you. Joules, fuck off.”

“You’re just mad because I punched your pop star boyfriend in the face which is not even half of what he deserves.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Lake says, like she wants to make sure that I can hear her. We haven’t gotten far enough to talk about that, but we will. Just not in front of her parents. Her dad is on the sofa behind me, watching something on the living room TV.

I’ve never been around a family like this. Not ever. I was never around any families at all. My dad died, and then my mom and I went into this dream with everything we had. It was cold audition room floors on Thanksgiving, or low-paying commercial shoots on weekends.

Everyone else was competition and not friend-material.

This is a different universe from my childhood.

“Do you live here, too, Joules?” I ask, praying like hell that he’s about to leave and go home.

“I didn’t.” He wets his lips and laughs. “And then my baby sister got matched with this douchebag celebrity, and I had to quit my job and give up my apartment so I could chase him on his world tour.”

“This isn’t Tam’s fault,” Lake reminds him, finally finding the promised cake. She brings it over to the table and sits next to me. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s ours. It’s a Frost family problem. We’re the cursed ones. Tam is technically a victim.” She looks up at me and then lifts a bite of chocolate cake on the end of her fork. “You haven’t even tried a single bite. How about just one? For taste?”

She pushes the fork toward my lips, and they part automatically. I take the offered bite, and try not to make a big deal out of it. I can feel her mom staring at us.

“You’re going into the office you said?” Lake repeats, as if she didn’t just feed me cake. I think about what Joules is saying—and how it means the asshole isn’t going anywhere—and I feel guilty about something I have no control over.

It might sound arrogant, but I can empathize with the pain that Lake must’ve felt when she realized it was me that she had to track down. It must’ve been overwhelming, especially because I was going out of my way to avoid her.

“Indeed I am,” her mom says, and then her gaze slides over to me. Lake leans in again, her whispering breath caressing my ear.

“Don’t forget: my mom knows all the gory details.” She sits back in her chair and continues to eat her cake while I sit there with the knowledge that her mom knows I told her cursed virgin daughter to suck my dick.

Wonderful.

“I wish I didn’t have to go in while you’re home. I’m assuming you won’t be here for very long?” Her gaze shifts from Lake to me.

“I’ll be working directly with Tam, as one of his assistants,” Lake says, and Joules starts laughing.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Get outside, Tam Eyre. I’m going to punch you again. Instead of asking my sister to be your girlfriend, you ask her to be your assistant?”

It did not occur to me like that.

It didn’t.

Fuck.

“I was just putting her in close proximity to me, a reason for her to be in every place that I am. Backstage. In the company car. At a photoshoot. When I’m filming. When I’m recording. I just wanted to be able to take Lake with me.”

Joules relaxes a little, and Lake’s mother relaxes a lot.

Thank God. I want her to like me, too. These people are going to make me put in the work. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been around someone that doesn’t take my popularity or looks or wealth into account. If anything, I think it’s a negative to this family.

“I’m going to bed. My room is directly underneath Lake’s. Just so that you’re aware.” Joules shoves a casserole dish into the fridge, and I’m tempted to ask him why he’d bother to mention that. He’s the one that sent his little sister to me in lingerie, isn’t he? I’m going to fuck her in that lingerie at some point. The thought percolates, and I flush, putting my hands on the tabletop.

“Is it okay if I use your shower?” I ask, and Lake nods, pushing her cake plate aside.

“It’s my birthday, Joules. Clean it up for me?” She bats her lashes at him, and then takes my wrist. I like that she keeps grabbing me, guiding me around her life with ease. I’m learning a lot about this woman, and I’m learning it more quickly than I expected.

Coming here was the right choice.

“Towels are in here.” Lake pauses outside the bathroom, pointing at a cabinet. “Just turn the faucet to the right for hot, and feel free to use any of the soaps or shampoos in there.”

She steps back and waits, but I just turn around and put my back up against the doorjamb.

“Thank you for letting me stay here.” I want to say more, but I think I’ve done enough today. I wait, just in case Lake has anything else she wants to tell me. It feels like she’s holding back.

“You’re welcome. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

She disappears up to the third floor, leaving me to shower in a stranger’s bathroom. Doesn’t bother me though. Like I said, I can adapt to any new location or scenario in an instant.

When I get out of the shower, I towel dry my hair, and eye the stairs to the third floor.

But I know when to stop.

I head back to my borrowed bedroom, and I fall sleep in less than a minute.