“I’ve known you a long time, Tom. No one looks at you like that.”

I laugh because he’s right.

In the cafeteria, he points at Amy and says, “It could be destiny.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Maybe. But how likely is it that you move into this girl’s house, then she moves within spying distance and she changes schools? That’s one hell of a meet-cute.”

“A what?”

“You should watch more films,” Zak says, and then, looking over my shoulder, “Don’t mess this up.”

He packs away his lunch and gets up, even though it’s ages until fifth period.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“I’m just making room.”

“Hi,” he says to someone behind me, and, when I hear her voice, I feel sick and excited, but mostly sick.

“Can I sit here?” Amy asks.

“Sure.”

“I hope it wasn’t something I did,” she says, nodding at Zak as he leaves.

“No, it’s…” I can’t finish the sentence because I don’t know what it is. All I know is I like this girl, and I need to be honest with her.

“I live in your house,” I mumble.

Amy looks confused and says, “I think I’d notice.”

“No…I mean…I live in your old house. We moved in. And I can see your new house from my window. I wasn’t spying. Only I…I saw your mum and realized you live there, now. I just wanted to tell you.”

“Oh,” she says. “That’s weird.”

I look for the slightest suggestion that she’s freaking out. But her face gives nothing away.

“Why did you move to the next street? Usually, people move farther away than that.”

“My mum always loved that house,” Amy replies. “We’d drive past, and she’d look at it with jealous eyes, you know? When she saw it was up for sale, she convinced Dad we should move. She didn’t want to leave the village. She just wanted her dream home.”

I think of Mum saying the same thing about our house. “There are holes in the doors,” I say. “In my bedroom and my stepsister’s. It looks like there used to be locks on the outside.”

It’s not a question because I don’t know how to ask what I’m thinking. I just want Amy to know I’ve seen them. I’m scared that, if I don’t say it now, it will be something that gets heavier every time I see her. And it feels like I’m going to see her a lot.

“You saw those?” Amy says. She doesn’t look upset or nervous. She’s not acting like I’ve uncovered a secret. She just nods and says, “I thought I was the only one.”

“What do you mean?”