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“Time’s running out. Only a few weeks until graduation. I need to start planning my escape. Charles would see it as a red flag if one day I suddenly left my house with luggage. He would see that. Renzo, too. I’d never get away.”
    My stomach pinched before I stared out the window, not wanting to have this conversation.
    “I was thinking of bringing something over to your house every day, just one item I could hide in my pocket or under my shirt,” Zack continued. “Eventually, I’d have a decent amount of stuff there. When it’s time to go, I’ll just pull my Jeep all the way into your driveway, so I’m right next to your bedroom window, then load up where they can’t see and get to the freeway as fast as I can.”
    I wanted Zack to be safe, even if it meant him being nowhere near me. But to help him leave? It was unbearable. “You can do that easier from your own house.”
    “Not really. My aunt and uncle park their cars in the driveway, so I’d have to carry my stuff to the curb. Charles could be watching two blocks away and I wouldn’t sense him. He’d be all over me long before I made it to the car.”
    At least when we went to the woods, we could ensure we weren’t being followed. At his house, we couldn’t possibly know when Charles was around. “Maybe there’s a cave in the woods or somewhere we could hide your stuff?”
    “If my clothes give off a scent and they find my stash, then they’ll know what I’m up to,” Zack explained.
    “Why not just hide things in your Jeep?” Anywhere but at my house. That would be a constant reminder. I gazed out the window, hoping the topic would die. At least for the next few weeks, I wanted to live in denial.
    “I can put a few things in there,” he said. “But if I fill up a duffle bag, Charles will ask questions. That’s strictly for just a few emergency getaway items, in case I can’t get to your house and have to leave with whatever I have on me.”
    A burning sensation started behind my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. The inevitable was coming, deep down I knew that, but talking about it….
    Still, I needed him to be safe, even though I didn’t want him to leave. “What if my parents really are shifters and not human? How will I explain the werewolf scent in my room when they pop in for one of their random visits?”
    “Still think they’re human. But in case I’m wrong, we’ll seal everything in bags and hide them really well,” he said.
    I was about to suggest sealing the bags for the woods, but we’d risk animals tearing into them and letting loose Zack’s scent. “Good thinking.”
    I squeezed my eyes against the burning tears. Being involved in his plans made his leaving all too real.
     
    ~~~
     
    Chapter Four

    Zack, Maya and Trevor beat me to our usual spot at lunch the next day. After I slapped a sandwich onto my tray, along with an apple and a fizzy peach drink, I headed to our table.
    When I glimpsed John waving me over, I detoured. As soon as I got close enough, he snatched the tray from my hands, grinning as he placed it in front of his own.
    “Sit for a minute,” John demanded.
    I obliged, but glanced over my shoulder at Zack. I just got hijacked. Be there soon.
    “What are you doing with your old car?” John asked.
    “Selling it. Haven’t got around to posting an ad. Why?” I bit into my apple.
    “You could sell it to me.” John grinned.
    He was out of his mind to want my old, decrepit car. A full blown frown crimped my forehead as I chewed hurriedly and swallowed. “You should hold out for something better.”
    Zack’s scent wafted into my nose and my tummy did a little flip as he rested his hands on my shoulders.
    “No denying it’s seen better days,” Zack said from behind me. “But I can attest it’s been well maintained.”
    “How much are you selling it for?” John asked. Apparently, Zack’s endorsement trumped my bashing.
    Zack’s thumbs gently dug into my shoulder muscles and my lids