“You make it sound like we’re completely loaded and she’s buried in offers.”

I smirk. “It’s a shame there’s no room for my father to negotiate, considering how in demand she is, right? Best if he just backs off and cuts his losses.”

“Smart.” She tilts her head and smiles, but then her face gets serious again. “If I were to give you another chance—and I’m not saying I am, but if I did—would you screw it up?”

I take a deep breath—it feels like my soul is crawling up my throat—and shake my head. “Not if I could help it,” I say, because we both know that’s the best I can do.

“I need to know some more things before this can be okay.”

“Anything,” I say, because just the idea that a reality exists where we could be okay has me drunk on nerves and anticipation. This is all I ever wanted, Bats and Peak against the world, like two characters from Vera’s books.

She scoots over on her bed, gesturing toward the empty spot. I sit on the very edge, not wanting to presume. I’m trying so hard to be still and quiet and patient and everything she would ever want, but my leg is bouncing a mile a minute, and I can’t stop biting the skin around my thumbnail. I am fucking this up already.

She unwraps another peanut butter cup, eyeing me. “I still can’t believe you’re really an Everlasting.”

“What, do you want to see my ID or something?” I joke.

“Kind of. Yeah.”

“Seriously?”

“Show me.”

I grab my wallet and slide out my Washington State ID. “I don’t have a license; my mom never had time to teach me,” I say, shame heating my cheeks because that’s another normal-kid thing I never accomplished. “I went to visit my aunt Mary in Michigan once and she tried, but—”

“I don’t have my license either; driving terrifies me,” she says, snatching the ID from my hand. Her face falls as she stares down at it. “You’re really an Everlasting.”

I nod, wishing so hard my name was something I could peel off like dirty clothes and leave behind forever. I don’t want it anymore, not if it means losing her.

“Did you know who I was at the dance?”

I shake my head.

“Are you lying?”

“No, I really didn’t find out until later.”

Her eyes burn into mine. “When you did find out who I was, why was your first reaction to sell me out?”