He probably flashed that smile of his. The kid is lethal that way.

But the two of them together? Super lethal. Pale people can go one of two ways: either veiny, uncooked chicken flesh or perfect, porcelain china doll. Luisa’s the latter—skin so white and milky, with pale, barely-there eyelashes and hair. She’s not the type to suffer sunburns. Luisa is too prepared for that. Plus, she’s brilliant—straight As, ever since elementary school. She’s the person you’d hate if she didn’t have an innocent, sweet, soft way of talking and look like a freaking angel placed directly on this earth by the hand of God. Our falling-out—or drifting apart, whatever it was—would never be attributed to her. It’s all on me, the girl who lost her boyfriend and, subsequently, her mind.

I never knew what people meant when they said a thing was “greater than the sum of one’s parts.” But that’s Luisa and Kane. Enviable on their own, but as a couple, they rule.

I have no choice but to trail behind them like the court jester. I think about how Luisa used to always sleep over at my house when we were younger. Most of the time, we’d talk and giggle about boys, wondering what two specific boys were up to across the street. I never slept over at her house, even though she had a much ritzier home with an in-ground pool. There was something more exciting about being so close to two gorgeous brothers. As we got older, the four of us would light fires in the old fire pit and hang out in the woods behind the cul-de-sac on warm summer nights. I’d almost think Luisa was using me if I hadn’t known her well before boys became interesting.

I shiver and blame the chill on this bleak, seemingly endless winter.

When we get to the school, Kane holds the door open for me. As I pass through, I think about the picture Declan’s mother gave me. THIS ENDS HERE. I’m about to tell him about it when he whispers, “Take it easy, okay, Hail?” and then he sweeps Luisa back into his arms.

Take it easy. The way he says it is not a casual send-off. It’s full of caution and worry. Because it’s par for the course for me to take everything hard.