“To see a friend,” Jared said, jogging downstairs.

I thought about that for a moment. “A human friend?”

“Negative,” I heard him say from the kitchen.

After my shower, I descended the stairs still feeling a bit woozy. I felt even worse for Jared, who didn’t even enjoy the debauchery before feeling the consequences of it.

Jared kept the accelerator to the floor, making the buildings of Providence blur by. I fidgeted with the temperature until finally resorting to the air conditioner. The stream of air blew against my face, and I closed my eyes.

Jared touched my knee.

“It’s helping with the nausea,” I said, knowing he would be just as relieved to have a small fraction of my symptoms alleviated.

The Escalade slowed to a stop beside the fence of an abandoned warehouse. We were just outside of town, no more than ten miles from Jared’s loft. I immediately felt a bit skittish, but the fear disappeared with Jared’s warm touch. He took my hand and didn’t let go as we hiked along an aging, gravel walkway and stopped at a gate harnessed with rusting chains. He pulled a key from his pocket and twisted it in the large vintage lock.

Jared pressed open the heavy gates and led me around to a side entrance, where he pressed a button on a small grey box. No one answered, but we were buzzed in.

Jared led me by the hand across the vast concrete. Pane after pane of glass lined the walls, shooting beams of sunshine to the floor through the decades of dust. He stopped in the center and smiled at me before calling out into the huge, empty space.

“Eli?”

We waited for almost half an hour. I wanted to ask Jared if he was sure his friend was there, but as long as he was being patient, I would play along.

“Oh, c’mon. She knows,” Jared said suddenly, rolling his eyes.

I watched him, the corners of my mouth turning up. It was amusing to see him talking to himself.

“Eli, we need to talk. You know she’s important.” He looked at me and then impatiently peered up to the extensive ceiling. “You’re being ridiculous!” he shouted into the air.

I stifled a giggle.

Jared turned to me. “What?”

“Nothing,” I said, forcing the corners of my mouth straight.

“Great. Now she thinks I’m nuts,” Jared called out to the massive room.

A tiny giggle escaped my throat, and Jared angled his neck to face me, attempting an insulted expression. He failed miserably when a wide grin stretched across his face.

“Admit it. It was funny,” a voice came from behind us.

I flipped around, instinctively hiding behind Jared.