Page 205 of Fighting the Forbidden

“October! You said eight weeks.”

“It’s just in case. You have my keys. Stay here if you want.”

“Alone?” Is he nuts? “I don’t know if I can stay here all by myself, but I’ll check on things for you.”

“Thank you. Jerry already agreed to let me store your car in one of the outbuildings, so don’t worry about that. Vapor will take care of moving it when he works on the paint. The keys for Black Beauty are on the peg in the kitchen. It’s yours to drive while I’m gone if you want.”

“Griff, I can’t take your car?—”

“I’m serious. I thought we’d be done with the Malibu before I left, so take the Chevelle.” He forces a quick smile. “I’ll feel better knowing you’re driving it instead of having it sit idle for weeks. If you’re not comfortable behind the wheel on your own, park it at your house. Remy can look after it.”

My brain’s struggling to keep up with all the information being thrown at me while my heart’s splintering into a thousand pieces.

“Remy’s storing my bike at your house. He and Eraser will come over and pick it up. Keys are?—”

“On the peg in the kitchen,” I finish for him.

He smiles and kisses my forehead. “Yes. Thank you.”

Just help him get through this. Break down later.

Griff studies the items on the bed.

“I didn’t know what you might want to wear.” Since everything’s in a neat roll, I describe what I pulled together.

“That’s fine.” He shakes his head. “I can’t think straight.”

“Phone charger.” I snap my fingers.

He shakes his head. “I think they’re gonna take my phone when I get there.” His eyes widen. “Hang on.”

He hurries to the closet and kneels, reaching way back into the darkest corner. His shoulder jerks as he pries something loose. He slides a box out and flips the lid off. “Burner phone I keep for emergencies,” he whispers, holding up a small, silver, oval-shaped phone with a little antennae. “At least I can send you a text here and there to let you know everything’s okay. I assume cameras will be rigged all over the house, so I’ll have to be careful.” He lifts his gaze, meeting my eyes. “I’ll only use it to reach out to you.”

I bite my lip and nod once.

He unwinds a cord from the box and plugs the phone in. “Still got juice.” He flips it open and taps on the keypad.

My phone vibrates from the nightstand, and I hurry to pick it up.

Unknown: It’s me.

“Got it.” I add the number to my contacts.

“Hopefully they don’t confiscate it.” He shuts it down, wraps the cord around it, and stuffs the bundle into a sock.

“You’ve got lots of hidden pockets.” I gesture to the backpack.

“I’m so sorry, Muffin.” He slides the phone into a side pocket I hadn’t noticed when I examined the backpack. Hopefully that means no one else will notice it either. “I never expected them to come today. I thought there was a chance I might still be here for your graduation.”

Griff won’t be there to see me graduate. “They really won’t let you leave to come to my graduation?”

He shakes his head sadly. “Once I’m in, I’m in. Total lockdown, except for once-a-week calls.”

Once a week. All the fun things I thought we’d finally get to do this summer—gone. No parties at Zips. No riding on the back of his bike. No movie nights at the drive-in. All the things I’ve wanted to do with Griff for years.

It’s one summer. You’ll make up for it next year.

But what if we don’t survive this separation? What if Griff doesn’t want to come back to Johnsonville? What if he doesn’t want me if he does come home?

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