I check my phone a hundred times in the twenty minutes it takes me to walk back to The Lavender and each time the screen is blank. It isn’t until I have the house in sight that it finally pings. I feel a surge of hope that poofs away when I see that the text is from Luke.  

Come over?

I contemplate my body's reaction to the words. I want to tell him I'll be there in five minutes. I could let him distract me and afterwards maybe we could come up with a plan to deal with his sister, my best friend, the letter, our mothers, the arch and all the rest of it.

But, the thing with Emma has reminded me that I'm not being fair. I can’t keep making decisions solely because they feel the easiest to me.

I pocket my phone without responding.<...

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