Page 105 of Shelter Me

Angel: An idiot who knows the exact moment your exam ended? I don’t think so. Impressed?

Olivia: No.

Angel: I knew you’d be. So, here’s the thing.

Olivia: What now?

Angel: There is a helicopter waiting for you.

Olivia: What? Right now? What’s happened?

Angel: Nothing bad. I’m taking you to Greece.

Olivia: Have you hit your head?

Angel: Hector is here too, we’ll both be waiting for you.

Olivia: Where is here? I need to shower and pack and I... I can’t just leave without telling Bianca that I—

Angel: Oh jeez, bla bla bla bla. The copter will be there in half an hour, incidentally. We’re both on it.

Olivia: Incidentally? Who types incidentally into their phone?

Angel: You just did. Twice.

Olivia: Do you hear yourself, Angel?

Angel: It’s ‘your highness’, actually.

Olivia: It is not. It’s ‘you doofus’.

Angel: Well, are you gonna get on it or not?

Olivia: Wait, I have a choice?

Angel: Not if you want to see Issy Woo live.

Olivia: WHAT

I jump and start screeching so loudly that two of my bodyguards come running into the room, worried that someone is murdering me. Or, in Bianca’s words:

“I bet they thought someone was torturing a pig in here.”

“Dude,” I turn to her, still screeching, “my brother got tickets for Issy Woo’s concert!”

Her face goes blank with surprise.

And the next second, there’s two of us screeching and jumping around. My phone, forgotten in my hand, buzzes with a text.

Angel: Are you done screeching?

Olivia: Never!

He just sends me an emoji in response. I can just about hear his self-satisfied chuckle in my ear. He knows that Issy Woo is my favorite singer. I’ve been progressively more and more obsessed with his songs since he went viral four years ago. Angel unfortunately knows this, because I keep sending him lyrics in our endless texting sessions when I can’t sleep at night.

I keep having nightmares about Marco dying in my place. Issy Woo’s voice and Angel’s texts are the only things that can quieten the horrors long enough to let me fall asleep for a few hours.

So, yeah, I am allowed to screech.

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