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would react back when I decided to leave. I had been homeless for the last five months.
    “You can stay at my house,” Mara said.
    I looked across the room to where Lake stood talking with Mr. Richter. Mara’s dad and I had never really talked. Before anyone knew the truth about me, I had spent my life avoiding crossing paths with other finfolk as much as possible, as if maybe they could figure out the truth about me if they got too close. I had no idea what he thought of me, or of the fact that I was involved with his daughter.
    “You sure that’s a good idea?” I asked.
    Mara nodded. “It’ll be fine.”

 
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    “Absolutely not.”
    Mara glared at her father, crossing her arms. “Why not?”
    Lake shot her a look like she had gone insane. “Because you’re seventeen and you are not moving your boyfriend into my house.”
    I shifted from one foot the other, staring at the toes of my dirty sneakers. It was pretty clear how Mara’s dad felt about me now.
    “Where is he supposed to go?” Mara asked. “His mom threw him out.”
    “I’m very sorry about that, Josh,” Lake said. “But I have to be Mara’s dad here, and I’m not comfortable with the two of you living under the same roof. I know what it’s like to be a teenager.”
    “We are capable of restraining ourselves without tearing each other’s clothes off every second,” Mara snapped.
    Lake’s neck reddened and his nostrils flared.
    “What if I promise to keep at least three feet between us at all times?” I asked, cracking a grin to try to lighten the tension in the air. It didn’t work, judging from the way Lake’s eyes flashed.
    Mara let out an annoyed huff. “ Now you want to be my dad. Just in time to piss me off.”
    Lake scowled. “Watch your language. It’s my final decision. He’ll have to stay somewhere else.”
    Mara opened her mouth to say something, but I reached out and grabbed her hand. “It’s fine,” I said. Mara and Lake had a rocky relationship, and I didn’t want to be the cause of any new problems between them. There was no reason to make him more upset than he already was. I nodded to Lake. “I understand. I’ll find some place else to go.”
    Mara shot her dad one last glare before she followed me out the door. We sat down on the top step, our sides pressed close together. Mara leaned her head on my shoulder. Twilight had fallen and the half moon hung in the sky behind the thick clouds. The island was quiet and still. In the peacefulness around us, it was hard to imagine that something bad was coming.
    “Sorry about Lake,” Mara told me.
    “It’s okay,” I assured her. “Maybe I can stay with Sailor. Callum and I can snuggle together on the couch.”
    Mara’s mouth curled into a slight smile. “So about Callum,” she said. “What’s the deal with him?”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    She lifted her head, her eyebrows raised. “What’s going on between him and Sailor?”
    I shrugged. “They became close. That’s all I really know.”
    “Are they dating?”
    “Yes, they went out to the movies last week,” I said dryly.
    Mara punched my arm. “You know what I mean.”
    “Does it matter?” I asked, kicking at a loose rock on the step near my foot.
    “Not to me,” Mara said. “But I think it matters to Dylan.”
    My forehead creased into a deep scowl. “And whatever concerns Dylan concerns you?” I snapped.
    Mara pulled away slightly. I felt her gaze on me, but I didn’t turn to look at her.
    “Dylan is my friend,” she said.
    I let out a bitter laugh. “Is that all he is?”
    “Are you accusing me of something?”
    “You two have had five months alone together,” I said. I didn’t want to fight with Mara, but I couldn’t hold the words back. Everything that had happened that day had settled heavy on my shoulders and I was suffocating under the pressure. My nerves were too frayed and on edge. I needed a release, to vent something before I