I feel my eyes narrowing at her. "How about you mind your own damn business?" She walks away with a smirk that I want smack off her face. Anthony, Dylan, and Casey are all still looking at me like I've done something wrong. "What?" I ask them, already annoyed. Casey looks away quickly and Anthony goes back to talking to Reece. Dylan's eyes stay on me a little longer before he goes over to Delilah and takes a piece of cake from her. I unlock my phone and scan over Jacob's message. Just wondering. I don't want to know what he was going to ask me to do with him, so I leave him on read. At the end of the night, Delilah goes to each room to make sure everyone has enough blankets and makes sure I'm drugged up on cold medicine. The medicine, which is supposed to help me sleep, keeps me awake. I lay on the bed and stare out the window. I thought the curtain-less window would freak me out, but it's soothing. The stars are clearly visible and the trees are swaying slightly from the wind. Casey is dead asleep by her loud snoring. Instead of forcing myself to fall asleep, I decide to get some water, so I gently sneak out of the bed so not to wake Casey. In the kitchen I fill my glass in the sink and drink it quickly before anyone can hear me. The last thing I want is to wake everyone up or get yelled at by Delilah. Rounding the corner to go back up the stairs, I run into something solid and I let out an oomph. I don't have to look up to know who I've just run into. "What are you doing?" Dylan whispers to me. "I couldn't sleep," I hug myself and back off slightly. "What are you doing?" "I couldn't sleep either," he says, staring at me intently. His hair is disheveled, and his long sleeve and plaid pajama pants are perfect on him. As much as I want to talk to him, it isn't a good idea while under the same roof as Kay. "Well, good night," I says, casting my eyes down to my feet. I'm headed for the stairs when he catches my arm. "Can we talk?" he asks. I wring my hands together nervously. "It can't wait until tomorrow?" "Kay isn't going to be asleep then," his eyes plead for me to talk to him. I can't say no. He pulls me toward the bathroom in the hallway where he gently pushes me inside and closes the door behind us and turns the light on. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I gaze up at him. He leans against the door before he starts talking. "I know you heard me and Kay earlier," he says softly. "None of it was true." "I know," I shrug, even though I don't know for sure. I don't see the point in arguing about it, so I don't say anything else. I only sniffle and avoid his eyes. He tilts his head. "This trip has been one giant mess," he runs a hand through his hair. "How are you feeling?" "The medicine didn't kick in, and I'm currently a mouth-breather." He smirks. "Don't tell me you're that person who gets sick easily." I cross my arms. "Did you bring me in here to harass me?" He chews on his bottom lip before saying, "No." We're going to get in trouble if we keep this up. Kay will wake up and somehow discover I'm missing from my bed. She'll barge into the bathroom and catch me and Dylan and it will all be over and I won't be able to protect my aunt and Casey from Xavier. "I just need to do this," Dylan steps forward and wraps his arms around me in a tight hug. Feeling his arms around me again has me melting into him. The soft thumping of his heart tickles my ear, causing me to close my eyes and focus on its rhythm. "I miss you," he says through my hair. "I miss you too." I wonder if it's all worth it. Putting my loved ones in jeopardy just because I care for Dylan. Letting go of him, I take a couple steps back. It isn't fair to Casey and my aunt. Casey wants me to defy Xavier, but I don't want to see how far he'll go to prove his point. "What are you thinking?" Dylan asks. My eyes sting from the tears that want to come out. "This isn't smart, Dylan." "What? Us talking?" he gestures between us. "We're being careful, it's okay." "It's not okay," I snap. "If anything were to happen to my aunt or Casey, I don't know what I'd do. I can't lose anyone else." He doesn't say anything. "I thought I could do this, but I can't. Anthony and Casey want to go up against Xavier, but what for? Just so me and you can be together?" His face hardens. "You don't want to be with me anymore?" "I do." A tear streams down my cheek as I say it. "We can't be together as long as Kay and Xavier are around. At all." "You want to give up?" His voice rises and we stay silent for a second to hear if there is any stirring in the house. I take a deep breath and say, "If it means my aunt and Casey stay safe, then yes. I'm giving up." He shakes his head like he can't believe the words coming out of my mouth. "Just promise me you're not planning to get back together with Jacob. That would be some bullshit." This angers me. "I get that you don't like him, but you should know me better than that. You need to trust that I know what I'm doing. I've trusted you throughout this whole process and I only want the same from you. The two people you need to worry about are Kay and Xavier." "I've always trusted you, Lace," his voice is annoyed. "You think I trust those two? I don't. I know they'll double-cross me in a heartbeat." The bathroom seems suffocating all of a sudden. "You really want to give up on everything we've worked for?" he asks me. "It shouldn't have to be this hard," I stress to him. "I don't want to keep fighting for you if it's a battle I'm not going to win anyway." Dylan is breathing hard and he turns his body so I can't look at him straight on. He runs his hand down his face. "I never would have talked to you if I knew Xavier would ruin everything." Before I can say anything he says, "See you around." He opens the door and swiftly walks out of the bathroom. I don't want to go to bed yet, so I shut the door and try to cry my problems away into some tissue.