Cutter lay wide awake in bed, even though it was well past midnight, and he knew he’d need plenty of rest for school the next day. Being a teacher was taking a toll on him, and he was seriously considering finding his own replacement and bowing out before he even secured Ru. Now that he knew where she was, it seemed logical to do so, but that would mean he wouldn’t get to see her every day, and he wasn’t willing to give that up, not yet at least.. Perhaps if she revealed she was in a relationship with this grocery store guy, he’d rethink it.She was the one keeping him up now, anyway. Try as he might, he just couldn’t seem to get her out of his mind. The idea that she would rather spend her time with some guy who’d picked her up in the produce section, or wherever, made him nauseated.The sound of footsteps in the hall gained his attention. It sounded like at least one of the girls was back from their

“You’re awfully quiet,” Lyric surmised as she drove Cutter’s truck toward Angel Grove. “You haven’t said more than a couple of words since you got in.”Pulling her eyes off of the trees in the distance, which littered the ground with the fleeting remains of what had once been autumn revelry, Ru said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about… something.” It had been so hard for her to get Kyle off of her mind. Even though she’d spoken to him just a few hours ago, she wanted to see him again. Instead, she was being hurried off to a meeting at a place that gave her the heebie-jeebies with a group of people she was pretty sure might be certifiably insane.“It’s okay,” Lyric shrugged. “I don’t mind just listening to the music. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”One of Ru’s favorite songs, “Revelations” by Audioslave, was playing

Dinner was punctuated with lively conversation, mostly from Rider with the rest of them finding a way to add a word or two when he paused to shovel lasagna into his mouth. Ivy really was an excellent cook, and Ru finished the entire piece she’d been given, despite the fact that it was pretty large. She also had a couple of pieces of Cutter’s exceptionally buttered garlic bread.“I made tiramisu for dessert!” Ivy called, a large smile on her face.“That sounds delicious,” Ru said, setting her napkin aside, “but I might have to wait a while. I don’t think I have anywhere to put it.”“Why don’t we go chat for a little while, and then we’ll see about dessert?” Cutter offered.Ru wasn’t sure who “we” was, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to eat one more bite, so she nodded. He stood, and so did she, following him out of the room. When no one else got u

Most of the way back to her house, they were silent. Ru had no idea what to say to him, and he seemed to be giving her some space. Once they reached town, Cutter said, “I hope we didn’t overwhelm you.”Ru guffawed. “How could you avoid it? There’s so much to think about.”“I know. And I wish we had more time to feed it to you slowly. But the Reapers are even more agitated now that we’ve taken Zu. We’ll likely all go out tonight to try to see if we can capture any more of them.”“How many do you think there are in the area?” Ru asked, assuming they needed to be close by in order for the Keepers to track them.“We’re not sure, but usually Nat has at least a couple dozen with him. Sometimes more.”Ru was surprised. “Why aren’t there more dead then?”Even in the dim light, she could see him shrug. “He’s had them searching for y

The day had dragged by, and even though Ru had gotten a lot of work done for school, she was constantly looking at the clock. Finally, at 3:00, she allowed herself to go get ready for her date. Kyle was supposed to be there in an hour, and she wanted to look as good as she possibly could, considering they were going on a date that involved hiking through the woods.At first, she’d thought it was a little odd that he wanted to leave so late in the afternoon since it would be dark in a few hours, but he said he had to help Jess with some stuff in her classroom and that would take most of the day. So, even though she wasn’t really one for strolling through the forest in the dark, she hoped that would mean they wouldn’t be walking long, and then maybe they could go do something more fun. Ru had a few ideas….She showered and dressed in an older pair of jeans that still looked good. She put on a long-sleeved T-shirt and a sweater that would fit unde