Derek looked at me, tensing, like he was ready to jump in with arguments if Aunt Lauren disagreed. When she said, “That would be best,” he relaxed. So did I. Simon grinned and shot me a thumbs-up. I looked over at Tori. She seemed to be holding herself as still as she could, her face rigid, not giving anything away.

“And Tori will come with us, right?” I said.

“Of course.” Mr. Bae smiled at her. “I suppose I should make sure that’s okay with her, though. Will you stay with us, Tori?”

She nodded, and slid a half smile my way.

“We’ll need to lie low for a while,” Mr. Bae said. “I have a few ideas of places we can go. Simon says Tori got a list of the other subjects. We’ll make contact with them. They have to know what was going on…and what happened. We’ll look for Rae, too. If she’s with her mom, that’s good, but we’ll want to make sure of that. We don’t want anyone left behind.”

It was overwhelming, but it felt weirdly good, too, knowing we weren’t alone, knowing we could help the others. We had a lot of work ahead of us, but a lot of adventures, too. I was sure of that.

Derek and I went out for our walk after dinner. Alone.

There was an open field behind the motel and we headed there. Finally, when we were far enough from the motel, Derek led me into a little patch of woods. He hesitated then, unsure, still just holding my hand. When I stepped in front of him, though, his free hand went around my waist.

“So,” I said. “Seems you’re going to be stuck with me for a while.”

He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole face.

“Good,” he said.

He pulled me against him. Then he bent down, breath warming my lips. My pulse was racing so fast I could barely breathe. I was sure he’d stop again and I tensed, waiting for that hesitation, stomach twisting. His lips touched mine, and still I kept waiting for him to pull back.

His lips pressed against mine, then parted. And he kissed me. Really kissed me-arms tightening around me, mouth moving against mine, firm, like he’d made up his mind that this was what he wanted and he wasn’t backing down again.

I slid my arms around his neck. His tightened around me and he scooped me up, lifting me off my feet, kissing me like he was never going to stop, and I kissed him back the same way, like I didn’t want him to ever stop.

It was a perfect moment, one where nothing else mattered. All I could feel was him. All I could taste was his kiss. All I could hear was the pounding of his heart. All I could think about was him, and how much I wanted this, and how incredibly lucky I was to get it, and how tight I was going to hold onto it.

This was what I wanted. This guy. This life. This me. I was never getting my old life back, and I didn’t care. I was happy. I was safe. I was right where I wanted to be.