F I F T Y - O N E

When December came around, everyone was absolutely devastated.

Emmie and Ramsay would stay together at all times, attached at the hip (and lip), as would Ani and Olivia, and Samuel and Mateo. The three friends were going to go to England on respective days and hours not to cause any suspicion. They were going to finish high school online—something that the police had taken care of—and already had a few job interviews lined up as all of them were eighteen by January.

After two weeks of staying glued to one another and clinging onto each other’s hands every minute of every day, the last day the couple would spend together was approaching. And fast.

Mateo left with a lot of tears, Ani following him a day later. And as Emmie sat in her and Ramsay’s shared bed, she thought about the fact that her first (and possibly last) love was leaving tomorrow, after just one shared night.

She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

The boy emerged from the