Aiden clicks around on his phone for a bit, then asks, “Thea, did you even look at who the original poster was?”

That takes the angry wind out of my sails. “No. Who?”

“It’s one of those cat-fight accounts. They find videos of girls fighting and post them on their own account. This was posted a while ago. They must’ve seen the video when it was originally posted and saved it before we deleted it.”

I drag my hands across my face and slide down the wall to sit on the ground. I guess this is me learning the hard way that once something is on the internet, it stays on the internet.

“I’m going to have to move sooner rather than later, Aiden. I can’t push it back now. Can we even still keep in touch? What if he keeps tabs on you? What if he figures out what you mean to me? Oh God, my mom’s going to flip.”

I don’t want to leave a second earlier than I need to. I shouldn’t have to. All I wanted was to be normal for two damn minutes before I never see my friends again, before I won’t feel Aiden’s hand in mine again, or his lips against mine. Why is my life so messed up that I’m going to be torn away from my friends and people I love?

The gravel crunches as Aiden kneels beside me. “No, you’re not. I just convinced you to stay. You’re not going anywhere until the last possible second.”

Tears escape, and I can’t help it. I’m being dramatic since I need to leave anyway, but now I won’t accomplish anything I wanted to do. I promised I’d help my friends—that I’d set everything right before I disappeared, leave them with a positive memory of me. But now I’m going to leave before I can fulfill any of my promises. Luke’s still in jail. Charlotte’s still confused about Noah and Chase. Chase himself is still heartbroken. Mason still doesn’t know about his dad, and Aiden’s dad is still an asshole out to hurt him. My heart cracks.

“I have to tell Agent Dylan, Aiden.” He’s the guy in charge of my case. He’s going to need to know something like this.

Aiden gently takes my face between his hands and forces me to look up at him. His thumbs brush the tears off my cheeks, and his eyes soften, a stark contrast to how they’ve looked all day.

“Thea,” he almost whispers. “You know I love you. You know I’m not just going to let you go that easy.”

This isn’t the first time he’s told me that, but every time feels like the first time.

“But—”

“No buts,” he interrupts. “Do you want to leave?”

I give him an incredulous look and move my face out of his grasp. “Of course not. You know that.”

“Then don’t. We can work around this. We can make the most of the little time you have.” He sounds hopeful, almost desperate. He’s trying to find a simple solution to a very big problem. “There’s nothing about the location in this video. Do you know how many high schools in America have lions as their mascot? Tons. The chances of Tony finding the video is already small, then he’d have to recognize you, and then figure out where it was taken.”