“Look at me, Sarah,” I say. She raises her head. “There’s no way I’m going to die. Knowing that you’re here waiting for me, it’s like a force field. We’re going to be together. Soon.”

Her lip quivers. “It’s so hard. Everything is awful right now, John.”

“Everything’s awful? What do you mean?”

“People are jerks. Everyone’s saying hateful things about you, and they say a lot of things about me, too.”

“Like what?”

“That you’re a terrorist and a murderer and you hate the United States. Guys at school call you names like Bomb Smith. My parents say you’re dangerous and I’m never supposed to talk to you again no matter what; and as an added bonus, there’s a reward on your head, so people are always talking about shooting you.”

She puts her head down. “I can’t believe you have to put up with all that, Sarah,” I say. “At least you know the truth.”

“I’ve lost almost every friend I had. Plus I’m at a new school where everyone just thinks I’m this weirdo.”

I’m devastated. Sarah was the most popular, most beautiful, most liked girl at Paradise High School. Now she’s an outcast.

“Things won’t always be this way,” I whisper.

She can’t hold back the tears any longer. “I love you so much, John. But I can’t imagine how we’re going to get out of this mess. Maybe you should turn yourself in.”

“I’m not turning myself in, Sarah. I just can’t. We’ll get out of it. Of course we will. My one and only love, Sarah. I promise, if you wait for me, things will get better.”

But the tears don’t stop. “How long do I wait, though? And what happens when things do get better? Will you go back to Lorien?”

“I don’t know,” I finally say. “Paradise is the only place I want to be right now, and you’re the only person I want to be with in the future. But if we’re able to somehow defeat the Mogadorians, then yes, I have to go back to Lorien. But I don’t know when that will be.”

Sarah’s phone buzzes in her pocket, and she pulls it halfway out to check the screen.

“Who’s texting you so late?” I ask.

“Just Emily. Maybe you should just turn yourself in and tell them you’re not a terrorist. I don’t want to lose you over and over, John.”