“That’s all there is. That’s the heart of it.” Now would be a good time to excuse myself and take a shower or something, but I feel trapped here in men’s boxers and an oversize T-shirt.

“Can I ask you something?” Chase sits down on a stool, lacing his fingers in front of him. “Why did you leave it so long to get back in touch?”

“I couldn’t leave it a minute longer.”

He bites his lip for a few seconds. I’m giving him the answers he wants, and still he doesn’t like them.

“But you left in a hurry,” he says. “You’ve brought nothing with you. And what’s that—” He points at the side of my face until I rest my palm there. “There’s a mark. There—by your temple. That’s a bruise.”

“No, it’s not.” I pull my hair forward to how it was last night. “It’s nothing. I just banged myself against the window on the bus.”

He nods quietly in the way people do when they don’t believe you. He’s more observant than I’d given him credit for. It’s true I left in a rush. Packing would have raised suspicion, and it wasn’t safe for me to stay in Pittsburgh any longer, not after what I’d done. I push those thoughts away and take a seat at the island, wondering what he’ll ask next. Mostly I just want to find out more about him and Alex. I heard them whispering last night but couldn’t catch what they were saying.

“If someone’s hurt you, you can say so, you know.” He looks down at the countertop. “I don’t know much about that kind of stuff, but it would be okay.”

I smile. If Chase knew the kind of trouble I’m in, he’d kick me out of his apartment right now and lock every door and window.

“You have such a nice place here, Chase,” I say, diverting the subject. “Where are Alex’s egg-smeared plates, her trail of toast crumbs?”

“Her what?”

“Never mind. So … Alex works with kids, right?”

“Yes. Kids who need help. She’s really good at it.” Chase sighs, part resigned, part proud. “I know she doesn’t like to talk about the difficult parts of her life. I thought you might know more.”

“Have you asked her about the difficult parts?”

“Yes, but she’s not all that forthcoming.” He scratches an itch between his shoulder blades. “I do want to know her.”

I study his quarterback-stud face. Alex always went for the poster boys. This one seems like a decent-enough guy, but he has no clue who he’s living with. He’s completely out of his depth.

“So … you say you two were pretty close?” he says. “What kind of things did you get up to?”