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Chapters (47)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. TUESDAY EVENING
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. WEDNESDAY MORNING
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. MIDDAY
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. EVENING
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. SUNDAY
  41. EPILOGUE
  42. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  43. GoFish: Questions for the Author
  44. Excerpt: Travelers Along the Way
  45. CHAPTER ONE
  46. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  47. Newsletter Sign-up

It was the first time that Rinn had heard Eli use Daniella’s full name. “Why am I supposed to know how to handle this? Because I’m a girl? I’m trying, and somehow that doesn’t count for anything, but I ask you to try for once and you say you’re not even her friend. What the hell is that supposed to mean, Eli? Why can’t you go talk to her? Why do I have to know how to do everything around here? You have access to the internet, too. You can figure out how to help a girl after a dude has been creepy to her. I am tired of being the one keeping it together.” Rinn was out of breath by the time she got to the end of that speech.

Eli stared for a minute. Then he nodded, turned on his toes, and ran out of the vault and down the stairs. As soon as Eli left, Rinn sagged against the bookshelf.

She was tired. She was scared. A girl she knew had been harassed. Her favorite author in the world had done the harassing. She was pretty sure that the store’s owner was the reason why the bookstore was failing—and that while he had the motivation to sink the whole enterprise on purpose, she had no idea how or even what he had done. Eli had expected her to know how to handle the aftermath of Brock Freaking Harvey perfectly. Daniella had made fun of Rinn for trying to handle everything perfectly. Rinn’s breathing got shorter and shorter, shallower and shallower, until there was little air left for her to take in.

Rinn knew she needed to calm down. Knew she needed to take a deep breath and prevent herself from hyperventilating. Knew that this was a panic attack. She hadn’t had one in ages. But she knew the name of what was happening to her. Knew that all of her safeguards and control mechanisms were failing her now.

It was just that knowing she was having a panic attack didn’t stop it from happening.

As she opened her mouth to take in a deep breath, she broke into sobs.

In the middle of the old, echoing bank vault, Rinn began to cry.

20

Awaiting the Arrival of the Uncertain

1:19 P.M.

Daniella

Daniella was, she was pretty much certain, just about the only person who knew how to get to the roof of Wild Nights Bookstore and Emporium.