“Yeah, I’m sure,” I said as I turned to the mirror and reapplied Kori’s burgundy lipstick. As I put it back into my bag, I pulled out the two apples I had stashed for the horses. “Here. I’ve got these too.”

She brightened as she grabbed them up. “Oh, God, thank you! You’re so my new BFF.”

Right … “I better go.”

BFFs? B freaking FFs? Okay, I was officially creeped out. No, not about having a cheerleader BFF, although that was pretty creepy too. But come on—this was eerily similar to my tempting fate list. Cheerleader best friend? Front page of the Kismet Courier? And I had Kori’s fake ID burning a hole in my pocket.

Even a cynic like me couldn’t come up with an easy explanation in the face of all this evidence. Yet, it wasn’t my list I was thinking about; it was Kori’s.

I don’t want to leave anything undone.

I’d spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out how to ditch Mom or Mrs. Patterson, not realizing just how easy it was going to be.

Luckily, Mrs. Patterson was pretending to be at Whispering Aspens while her daughter “visited,” aka checked up on her. And Mom left a note saying she was at a conference in Denver and wouldn’t be home until late. Which left me, once again, all alone.

It was what I wanted, right? So why had the world stopped turning?

I sank down into the couch feeling paralyzed again. How many late nights, double shifts at the hospital, and last-minute conferences had there been? How many had been lies? How many times had my mom chosen to be with this guy over being with me?

If Kori were here, everything would be fine. We’d run away, cross state lines.

The metallic twist of a key in the lock made my heart jump.

“Serena! Come over and meet my daughter,” Mrs. Patterson called through the open door.

I got up from the couch and followed her out the door. “You brought your daughter here? But I thought—” I clamped my mouth shut seeing the woman bent over and petting one of Mrs. Patterson’s cats. She glanced our way with an awkward smile. I leaned in to whisper, “Weren’t you keeping the town house a secret?”

“Oh, it’s been fun, but it’s time to tell them!” So much for keeping quiet. I’d forgotten how Mrs. Patterson had to shout to hear herself. “I’m not getting any younger, and if anything happens to me, I need to make sure the kittens are taken care of.”

Her word choice gripped at my heart.

“Oh, honey, wipe that look off your face, I’m not dying! Not yet. But when I do, there’s gonna be things left behind. Things that will need to be taken care of.”