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Back Little Universes Save as PDF
Chapters (63)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Part 1
  6. Mae
  7. Hannah
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. Part 2
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. Part 3
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. Epilogue
  59. Mental Health Resources
  60. Acknowledgments
  61. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  62. About the Author
  63. Newsletter Sign-up

That weird circus girl on the boardwalk is one thing. She and Nah were friends. Dealers make me think of guys in leather jackets and alleys and knives and, oh my god, CARTELS—

“This could be like that show on TV you guys like!” I say. “The one where everyone is on meth and then those scary guys from Mexico come and—”

“Mae. Just…” He sighs. “I know you are super … You’re a good girl, and that’s cool, but please trust me when I say that whatever it is you’re imagining is not at all true. Okay? Some kid at school is helping her out, and that’s it.”

“But that is totally out of my control! How can I find this person, how can I stop them—don’t you see this is a total all-systems fail?”

He’s quiet.

“Micah! You have to help me fix this. She’s drowning.”

“Just give her time, Mae. I’ll be there at Christmas and I’ll talk to her in person about all of it. I promise.” The background noise on his end gets louder. “Hold on a sec.”

I hear a girl’s voice, soft. “Hey, you. We’re gonna head down soon. You almost ready?”

A tingling sensation spreads across my fingers. The last time I got this feeling was the wave, and before that, it was when Riley came over and had this look on his face and then he told me his family was moving to China and that he didn’t want to do a long-distance relationship.

Vibes. Bad ones. Maybe this is data I should consider more seriously.

“Yeah,” Micah says to the other voice. “Five more minutes.” A door shuts. It’s quiet again. “Mae? Look, I have to go. I’m coming for Christmas, right? And it’s already October, so I’ll be there before you know it and I’ll sort it out. Okay? Just hold tight.”

“I’m sorry, Micah, do you have something better to do right now than discuss the fact that your girlfriend whose parents just died is maybe suicidal?”

“Whoa. What the hell?”

Finally, I can’t stand it.

“Who was that girl?”

“Huh?”

“That you were just talking to. Just now. That girl.”

A pause, then: “No one. Look, is Nah around? Maybe I should just check in with her for a sec. But then I really have to go.”

No one.

No one isn’t no one unless they are someone.

“Are you cheating on my sister?”