Sutt

like I'd won th

no

erest. Instead, I was stuck in a room that smelled like regret and overpriced espresso, watching him dissect me with the same en

nmedicated chaos gremlin." "Tempting, but my editor's on a cleanse. Let's dig

"You mean the things I pay th

e that hurt my cheeks. "See?

s, you two," she said, standing. "No blood." She paused at the door. "And

mb tapped once-sharp, like a metronome. "If I s

where. Maybe livestream you ju

d. "You'r

bout pa

"Fine. But if you leak my grandma's sc

ghts. I thumbed the frayed edge of my notebook, the one I'd bought at a gas

rough tapping the table edg

l. "People don't connect with titles. They connect with...

like it held answers. A

" he asked finally

stuff that happens bef

He said it flat, automatic, like h

y does your assistant keep texting me cryi

but the ghost of one, there and gone like a match struck in the wind. Tin

Since when did stone-faced w

ting his tie with too much

at's not even

luorescents. "You wanted ordinary.

ck, my coffee now colder than his person

-

had died a slow, lukewarm death. The neighborhood was all silent money-manicured boxwoods, dr

ned before I

at fit like they'd been sewn by someone

. "You know vampires slee

he cup. "You'll

ing a marathon or

urgical suite. A blender growled like it was angry at existence

ne toward m

een. "Is this breakfast

inach. Wh

"Jesus. Tastes like someone mowe

out blinking. "Yo

et used to a

ck in the armor, those laugh lines reappearing.

uttered, eyeing his blend

unter, arms folded. "Lif

a morning pers

n harder than I mea

ers working his shoelac

ord lodged i

e mil

still tacky from the s

ill to

is isn't about the article

on the doorframe. "Ca

lks, cracked at the toes. "If I p

rolling his neck like he d

shut. My knees we

on his ankle-thin and pale, cutting through his Ac

slow. "D

ne dad pushed his toddler on the slide, laughing as she squeale

ted

ke. Ethan slowed, barely winded, and

stinging my eyes.

t smiled

smelled like lavender and something unname

. "You're

ready retreating int

fee long abandoned. My phone buzzed-Claire: *He hasn't r