A'S

and it shattered acro

wh

loor, away from the window. The lights were off. Only the glow of

er cracked in the middle. Her fingers

couch.

's wo

e waves, as if I'd swallowed a live wire. I tucked my knee

ee heartbeats. Then her

r bag, you grab your passport,

find us

be f

owed. "They'd

shut

om last summer: Noah, squinting into the sun, a lopsided paper crown on

it until my

ne face down, and the

-

ands had stopped

d out croissant dough with a rolling pin that felt twice as heavy as usual.

ll hit

er. Sharp

d around with a towel over he

d out in a gray cloud. Twelve perfect cr

m so sorry, I'

opped to my hands. They were trembling so badly the tray rattl

ryt

laugh that sounded like

go anyway and patted my shoulder b

I wiped my palms on my apron, over and over, a

hen I sa

ck as a hole in the world. Engine idling. Windows

ropped throu

down. Only halfway. Only en

. Completely

me, through the glass, across a busy street, like

pin slid from my fingers and thudded onto the counter, and I did

dow sli

ed away with

edge of the counter, my he

was

need a na

-

TE'

p. Tap. Tap ag

asked from the driver's

t's

n't look

irl in a flour-streaked apron, standing frozen behind the glass with he

ed. "How d

e was holding the trash can

the wo

made them careful. I'd built an empire on it, and I

't I stop see

ing. But her chi

e," I

Tap

-

A'S

rpr

st scr

e hand and a tiny paper flower in the other, folded from a napkin, cro

made during Anatomy." He held both out like

shed his, and all of a sudden

arms arou

d his heartbeat thudded steadily against my cheek. He smell

n softer. His arms w

as low and worried.

Don't tell him

couldn't stop them. My shoulders shook, and my fingers

ispered. "Pleas

gain. He just pressed his l

ack car parked at t

n in the passenger

ic

-

partment door with a hand t

t. I kicked off my shoes, flicked on

pe lay on the floor,

p. It had been s

egan to pound, slow and heavy

d it up. The paper

a single

lips against my hair.

dn't b

k ink, in neat, elegant handwriting

m while h