Chapter 107: Chapter Twenty-Four: The Fast and Fierce and Forever-7

[Luke: Because your birthday isn’t over yet. Come on.] [Me: Gramps is sleeping.] [Luke: Then be quiet. We won’t go too far from here.] [Me: You’re making me sneak out. You’re a very bad influence, Luke Hedenby.] [Luke: Part of my charm you can’t resist. Now get your cute butt down here.] [Me: Fine. Give me 5 minutes.] It wasn’t easy to tiptoe quietly in the dark with just the glow of my cellphone aiding me but I managed to grab the dress I wore to the party earlier from the hanger it was on by the bathroom door. I padded quietly to the door, stuffing my feet into a pair of flats on my way out. In all the years I’d spent living with Gramps, I’d never once snuck out to meet a boy—or do anything remotely adventurous for that matter. Yet here I was, a full-grown adult, doing it for the first time, my heart pumping hard with the rush of rebellious excitement. I stepped out and cursed myself for forgetting it was a fall morning and the air had a sharp nip to it. I thought somehow that Luke would be right there, waiting for me, but there was no one in sight. The entire street looked oddly deserted. It was still dark, with most windows from every building dark, the only light coming from a blend of lamp posts and store front signs. Then I noticed the flicker of something on the sidewalk. A large candle lantern sat right in the middle of it, its golden flame burning steadily. My eyes trailed up along the sidewalk, following one candle lantern after another and realizing that the line of them stretched all the way to the end of the block. Unable to resist, and probably too entranced to notice anything else, I started to move toward the first lantern and noticed  the white folded note tucked halfway under it. I crouched down, carefully slid it away from under the lantern and unfolded it. It only contained a single word. I followed the trail of lights, picking up each note as I went until the words—all twenty-four of them, one for each year of my life—started to make sense. The day we collided, my life didn’t change. It finally started. I only know one way