Oh no. Not this too. Their time can’t be up. It can’t be.

At some point, her heart turned into a steel trap. She let Malcolm in and hardened herself to keep everyone else out. Because it was the safest thing to do.

A relationship with Malcolm was a known quantity.

But Fox. What if he changes his mind? What if he decides he can’t love her? Can she trust him not to hurt her? The risk of heartbreak looms over her so large, it’s overtaking everything else.

Joy waits for him to join her. She knows what she wishes she could say but that’s not what comes out. “I’ve never broken up with anyone before.” She frowns. “I don’t think I like it.”

He gives her a quizzical smile—the first one she’s seen. “Is that what this is?”

“That’s what you asked for, right? Until we go back home. Here we are. At the end. Home.”

“Hmm.”

That hmm cracks through her sadness, making Joy grin. “I can see you thinking.”

“Because I am.”

“About?” She tries not to sound hopeful. Fox hasn’t mentioned being friends. To be fair, neither has she, but she has a feeling that’s not what either of them really wants.

Fox opens his mouth, but then closes it, shaking his head. There’s an uneasiness in his expression. “Sixty-five percent.”

Joy lets out a breathy, anxious laugh. “Until the very end, huh?”

“I guess so.” His jaw is tense, flexing. He has something he wants to say—Joy can practically feel it reaching toward her. But she can’t read his mind. She wants, no she needs to hear him say it. Is she not worth the risk for him?

“Well. Thank you for volunteering to be my grumpy fake boyfriend.” She can’t bring herself to say goodbye. Because if she says it, then that makes it final.

Fox opens his arms, and she steps right in as if she’s walking in the front door of her apartment—guard completely down and happy to be there. She holds him as tight as she can, face buried in her favorite hiding spot.

If Joy goes to Summer’s game night, she’ll see him again, but it won’t be the same. She wants Fox like this, with hugs and kissing and long conversations about their lives with terrible, terrible jokes shared between them.

It’s silly, but she feels like she’s been cheated. Like something has been stolen from her and she’ll never get it back. Never get another chance.

The drive home is filled with red lights and traffic—so much so that Joy decides to stop at a pet store to kill some time by buying Pepper some please forgive Mommy treats. About an hour later, she knocks on Mrs. Norman’s door.