“I’m not quite sure what you’re saying.” Or maybe I do, and I just don’t want to get my hopes up.

“Me neither.” He sighs, frustrated. “I just wish I could experience all of it with you.”

A glimmer of hope shines inside me. “Then experience it with me.”

“But how am I supposed to do that with all the stuff going on?” Sadness consumes his face. “And what about Sadie? How can I just bail on her?”

“You wouldn’t be just bailing. You’ve helped a lot. And you can still help.” I step toward him until the tips of our shoes brush. “You want to know how you do it? You just do it—you just go. You say to hell with the faulty roof, flip it the bird, and live your goddamn life.”

“I wish it were that simple,” he says quietly. “But no one would ever let me just take off. And what if the Soulless Mileas chase me down? What if I put everyone in danger?”

“Those are all possibilities, but so is the police finding the people who are doing this to you. They could find Sadie. This could all be over soon. You never know. That’s the thing, Ayden, you never know about anything. Just like you never know if you’ll ever have a chance to do something like this tour again. It might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. And if you want to go, then we’ll find a way. Don’t let anyone take away your life from you.” I hold my breath, waiting for him to agree that he’ll do it. Go with me on this crazy three-month journey lying ahead of me.

He doesn’t flat out say it, but he does faintly smile and the tension in his body unwinds.

“We’ll talk to our parents and figure something out if you decide you want to do this,” I say, trying not to get too hopeful. Not until he says it aloud. “But right now, there’s something way more important we need to do.”

His forehead furrows as he stares at me. “And what’s that?”

A wicked grin rises on my face as I haul him toward the door. “We need to go jump in the ball pit. Like, right now.”

He laughs as I drag him out of the bathroom and through the restaurant. I don’t slow down as we race for the ball bit. I just hold on until the edge and then jump.

WE LAND IN THE BALL pit, holding hands, and sink into a sea of plastic balls. When our feet hit the floor, Lyric laughs and pushes up to the top, like she’s swimming in water.

“I always loved playing in these when I was a kid,” she says as she twirls around in a circle, creating a funnel.

“I’ve never actually been in one,” I admit as I pick up a ball and chuck into the air like a baseball.

“Well, now you can’t say that anymore.” She moves over by me. “Tell me one of your secret wishes.”

I cock a brow at her. “One of my secret wishes?”

She nods, her green eyes sparkling. “I used to play this game with my dad when I was a kid. He would tell me his secret wish, then I’d tell him mine.” She grins deviously. “He once told me that he secretly wished he could be a superhero for a day and wear a cape. I think he just said that, though, because he was trying to keep his wish PG.”

I snort a laugh. “Why would I tell you my secret wish when you just outed your dad’s?”

“Because you love me.” Her bottom lip juts out and she bats her eyelashes at me as she clasps her hands in front of her. “Pretty please, Shy Boy.”

I shake my head, but she’s too damn adorable, and I can’t help but smile. “You know that I know you do that on purpose, right?”

“Do what?” she asks innocently.

I touch the finger to her bottom lip. “Pout to get your way.”

“Then why do you give me my way still?”

“Because I love giving you your way,” I admit with a shrug. “I guess that’s my secret wish. That I could always give you your way all the time. That I could give you what I know you want.”

“You mean with the tour?” She catches my hidden meaning.

I nod. “I’m going to try to go for you, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Don’t try for me.” She loops her arms around me, angles her head back, and looks up at me. “Try for yourself.”

Her long, blonde hair veils down her back, her green eyes glisten in the light, and her chest is pressed against mine. She looks so fucking beautiful right now, I could write a song about it.

Eyes so green

That carry love for me.

How is that even possible?

How can something so beautiful