My sneakers squished as I made my way onto the elevator. There was no way I could walk into my apartment like this. I hit the button for the floor beneath the penthouse. I needed to borrow something to wear from my Russian neighbor. And check on the hole.

I knew nothing about construction. But it was becoming very clear that I needed to fix this problem myself. My first thought was that maybe I could rearrange the furniture in the guest room. Just...push the bed into the middle of the room. But I was a little worried that the entire floor might collapse as soon as someone sat on the bed. Moving the bed could be a temporary fix though.

I grabbed the key from under the mat and unlocked the door.

All the lights were on in the entranceway. I cringed. Sophie and I had left in such a hurry the other day. We’d probably left them on.

I pulled off Jacob’s jacket as I made my way into the Russian woman’s bedroom. I started humming as I walked into her closet.

It took a while, but I finally found a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. This chick had so many bikinis. Whenever she was in New York, she must have only ever attended pool parties.

I tucked my wet clothes under my arm and smiled to myself. Now that I was dry and almost home an eerie sense of calmness washed over me.

Had tonight gone perfectly?

No, not even close.

But Jacob had given me his varsity jacket. And asked me to homecoming. And told Noah off when he’d kissed me. And said that the kissing booth had made him jealous. I squealed. It was a great night. A really freaking great night.

No, Jacob hadn’t asked me to be his girlfriend. But maybe he would on Monday night when I went over to his house for dinner. For just a few minutes, I wanted to forget about everything else. I’d been waiting my whole life for a night like this. And I just wanted to focus on the good things.

I started humming again as I walked out of the closet. But my feet froze when I heard the sound of a power drill.

What the... I tiptoed down the hallway. And then I could hear the sound of humming that wasn’t mine. Crap. Was the Russian woman home? I should have gone out the front door, but I was too curious. I kept tiptoeing.

The door to the room with the hole in the ceiling was closed. But the humming was definitely coming from in there. I opened up the door.

Uncle Rob was holding a power drill in his hand beneath the ladder. He hummed to himself and twirled around in a circle before grabbing a screw.

“Uncle Rob?”