“I did, and having him back in my life has been, well, it’s a freaking miracle, isn’t it?” But now there’s a bitterness to my voice. Because if Gravelle had never taken Ollie in the first place, I never would have had to get him back. “But leaving you tore me up inside. And Ollie, he’s broken now too. Maybe not as broken as you and me. But in his own way. Gravelle is his father, his biological one. He thinks that makes him a monster.” I turn and wipe my tears away as I sink into Levi’s embrace, resting the back of my head on his chest as his arms encircle me. He traces his fingers up and down my arm. All I want to do is sink into this moment, but I have to finish this. I have to say it.

“But I don’t love him, not like I… Not like this,” I say, my voice catching. “Every night you were gone, my body missed you. And now…” I turn to look at him, because I need to say this to his face. “Now I’m one of you, don’t you see? I can’t go back, not now that I know what I am. Who I am… Levi?” I ask, searching his eyes, willing him to say something.

“Emma, I… I know you’re a Similar,” he says, that distant look still in his eyes.

“A-plus for your listening skills?” I snap. I’ve just told him the biggest secret of my life, and his reaction is no reaction at all?

“Look, Emma, you don’t understand.” He lets go of me, pulling away to pace the grass. “I know you’re a Similar because Gravelle told me before I came to school,” he says softly, his hands back in his pockets, his shoulders slumped. “Before our junior year,” he clarifies. “I’ve always known.”

I can’t comprehend what he’s saying to me. What does he mean, he’s always known?

“It’s why I tried to stay away from you for much of last year,” Levi explains. “Not the only reason. I really did worry that if we were ever close, if we were ever an ‘us,’ you wouldn’t be able to love me for me. Or separate me from Ollie’s memory. But I also wanted more for you. A normal life. One where you could be secure in your father’s love, and not plagued by everything my friends and I live with, every day. I hoped that you’d be the one Similar to get away. To have a chance at all the things we’ll never have.”