Kat shook her head. “I do,” she said, her voice rising. Teri stirred in her sleep, muttering something that sounded like helicopter, and Kat and I both took a step away from the couch. “I do,” she said again, more quietly. “It was my fault your phone got broken. I have to take responsibility for once. This was my fault. So take the phone.”

I took it from her and turned it over in my hands once. I knew it was a largely symbolic gesture at the moment—it was still Kat’s phone, after all, with her numbers and texts and all her information, and lots of technical Genius Bar things had to be done before it was mine—but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate it. “Thanks, Kat.”

Kat smiled at me, but halfway through it turned into a gigantic yawn. “God, I’m tired.”

“Really? Why would that be?”

She laughed and headed back toward the guest room we’d be sharing.

The screen saver was back on the TV again, and as I watched, the ocean view transformed into a panorama of New York City at night. I looked at it for a moment—the impossible buildings, the bright lights, the millions of stories. I smiled, and looked at it for one moment more before I pointed the remote at the TV and turned it off.

PART SIX Saturday

CASEY

And you can see, not that much happened here tonight. Nothing that you can point to. But we can all feel it. One world ended and another began.

RYLA

Plus, there was the whole Robot uprising.

CASEY

Right, that too.

—Dave Stuart, Ghost Robot 5: Ghost in the Machine

CHAPTER 30

Kat

Tell me again,” I said as I curled up on the couch and looked at Teri. She was positively glowing, her whole face alight. I was not quite so happy or well-rested, but that might have been because I’d gotten about five hours’ sleep. As soon as Stevie was awake and ready, I was going to suggest a Starbucks run. I needed it injected directly into my veins. I yawned behind my hand and tried to get myself to focus, then grabbed a handful of the gummy candy on the coffee table. “You and Ryan Camper broke up?”

Teri rolled her eyes. “Ugh, yes. He was way too possessive and jealous. And there was no trust there! Dustin is so much better. I can already tell.”

“Dustin, your new boyfriend,” I said, trying to keep up.

“Yes,” Teri said, beaming. “He’s so sweet and so cute and so nice and super polite—which makes sense. I mean, he is Canadian.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, trying to keep my face very still. “And this all happened… last night?”

“It was a really eventful night.”