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was four. I was supposed to see Sean at six and I didn’t want to be late.
    “Some friend. I heard about what happened,” she said as the thirst for gossip overtook her. I remained silent and looked down at my plate. “Didn’t he try to kill himself over his computer character?”
    “What?” This was from Aunt Carrie. “He tried to kill himself over what ?”
    “You know those online fantasy games? When his avatar died, he tried to kill himself,” my sister explained. “He has serious mental issues and has to take a bunch of anti-depressants and stuff.”
    “That’s crazy,” Aunt Carrie said, rolling her eyes. “And this boy is your friend?” she asked, turning to me. “You’d better be careful. That’s the kind of boy who’ll be on the news one day—on top of a watchtower, shooting a bunch of college students…”
    “He isn’t dangerous,” I said. Not in the way they thought, anyway. I thought about the way he could override my will and commonsense. The way he pressed me to the bed and took my breath away with his thrusts. The way his hands could make me dizzy. Perhaps he was just a little dangerous.
    ***
    I cleaned the kitchen at lightning speed and prayed the majority of my relatives would leave quickly. A glance at the clock on the stove had my heart racing. It was five-fifty-seven. Sean would be calling me any moment. He would expect me to come over. I couldn’t bear to disappoint him, but I could hardly walk out on all my relatives to go to his house. My phone vibrated, making me jump.
    “Hey,” I sighed into the phone.
    “Hey, beautiful. We’re running late. Can you come over at seven?” he asked. I almost collapsed with relief. There was still time to clear the house. 
    “Yeah. Just call me when you’re ready.”
    “Is that a one-time invitation? Cause if it’s a standing invite, I’ll be calling you all the time,” he laughed. It was really good to hear him laugh like that. He sounded so normal —almost like a real boyfriend.
    “Let’s just say it’s on a case-by-case basis,” I replied. “Are you having fun?”
    “No.”
    “Me neither.” I lowered my voice to a near whisper. “I miss you.”
    “I miss you too. How long will your parents let you stay over? Maybe my mom will do us a favor and go to bed early,” he said hopefully.
    I hadn’t said anything to my parents about going over there, so I had no idea how long they’d let me stay. Curfew had never been an issue because I rarely went anywhere. And though I was tec hnically an adult, I was a high school student who lived at home and I was expected to abide by my parents’ wishes—or face my dad’s wrath. 
    It was just after seven when Sean called me. All my relatives had finally gone home. Claire had long since left to hang out with friends, and my parents were in the living room watching TV.
    “Hey , I’m just gonna pop over next door real quick. I’ll be back in a little while. I’ll have my phone.”
    My father barely looked at me when he asked, “Why?”
    “ His mother invited me over to have some pie and coffee,” I replied, fighting back the urge to beg.
    “Be home by ten,” he said through gritted teeth. I guessed he could find nothing sinister or dangerous about coffee and dessert.
    I skipped out the front door and across the yard to Sean’s house. He met me on the porch and kissed me before leading me inside.
    “Alex is here,” he called out.
    “Hi, honey,” his mother said, greeting me like a long lost daughter-in-law.
    “Hi, Mrs. Droste,” I murmured , afraid to meet her eye. 
    “You can call me Susan.”
    I took a seat at the kitchen table and sipped the hot cocoa she placed in front of me. We chatted while she planned her Black Friday shopping extravaganza. Within a half-hour, she pleaded exhaustion and went to bed.
    “ Good night, you two. I have to get up at four tomorrow if I’m going to get any good deals. Wish me luck.”
    Sean and I looked at each other across the