“Kassey! Kassey, slow down!” Evan yelled as we got outside. I ran as fast as I could to the car. 

“What?” 

“Why are you moving so fast?” Evan asked as we reached his car. 

“No reason.” I said too quickly. Evan gave me a look.

We drove to his house in silence. He pulled into the driveway of a really nice house that looked like it was recently repainted. It was a brick house and the bricks were very visible despite the new paint. The house was dark on the outside but gave off a welcoming feeling when we pulled into the driveway. Evan killed the engine and sat there.

“What did she mean by ‘I took her in?’” Evan asked me after moments of silence.

“Nothing. She meant nothing.” I stared out the windshield.

“Kassey, look at me.” He demanded.

I did, “What?”

“What did she mean? It looked like it made you upset.”

“Does it matter?” 

“If you’re keeping secrets from me, yes. It does.” Evan said angrily.

“I’m a foster child! Ok! Is that what you want to hear?” I yelled. It tore me up to admit it out loud, but he wasn’t going to let it go, and I hated keeping things from Evan. 

He blinked at me. It seemed like he didn’t know what to say and that made me feel worse. 

I scoffed. “Yeah, I thought so.” I got out of the car and started walking away from the house.

“Wait! Wait.” He caught up to me and blocked my path. “Please wait.”

“Why? It’s not like you would want to have anything to do with me now.” I shrugged.

“I didn’t say that...I-I just wasn’t expecting you to say…” He trailed off.

“Why? Is it because I’m not like you? I absolutely despise telling people that I am a foster child because of the exact reaction you just gave me. They treat me differently. They think I’m fragile or a disease or something foriegn. I never really acknowledged it out loud to anyone.” I admitted.

“I get it. I mean, I won’t treat you differently. I think it’s brave that you told me.”

“Not that you gave me any choice.” I muttered.

Evan sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t do really well with boundaries sometimes. Really, Kassey, it doesn’t matter if you have an extra toe or was born with two heads, I still see you as the ‘suffer in silence’ girl I met yesterday in psychology class.” Evan smiled at me.

I laughed even though I didn’t want to. I still hated the fact that I told him, but I liked the fact that he was willing to see it differently than other people would. I just hoped nothing changes that. 

Evan took me to his room and we started to work on the project. Evan’s room had a musical vibe. There weren’t any posters, but he had a guitar in the corner next to his bed and a stack of papers on his nightstand on the other side of his bed. Evan’s bed cover showed musical notes that spread from top to bottom. I sat on the bed and looked at Evan as he worked to clean up his room.

“Sorry. I didn’t really have time to clean up.” He said as he picked up some books.

“It’s fine. Your room isn’t really that messy. Do you play?” I asked, pointing to the guitar.

He looked up and nodded. “Yeah, in my off time. It’s the only thing I know how to play. I can’t sing.” He chuckled.

“Hmm...”

“Is there anything you know how to do? Do you play or sing? I know you know how to play basketball.” Evan sat down next to me.

“Yeah. I used to play with my dad. I would also sing with my mom. She loved to sing and I would join her.” I said sadly.

“You miss them, don’t you?” He asked softly.

“You have no idea.” I cleared my throat. “Ok, um, do you want to start or…?”

“Yeah, paper or technology?” 

“Paper. Definitely paper.” 

Evan gathered a poster board and pencils for us to start the project and he told me to search up some facts about each brain function.

“What happened to your hand?” He asked me as I started writing.

“My brother slammed my hand into the door by accident when I was trying to apologise.” 

He inhaled sharply. “Wow. That’s rough. You alright? Did you guys make up?”

“Yeah, we did. My hand will heal. Ok, you said that the heart doesn’t need the brain to function.”

“That can be a fun fact. We need functions that the brain has that help the body. How about...the left side of the brain helps with speech and language while the right side helps with visual and processing information?” Evan suggested.

“And you need me why?” I said as I rolled my eyes.

Evan laughed. “I didn’t want to do this alone. Plus, you got this. I need help.” 

“Yeah right.” I snickered but kept searching things up.

Evan and I laughed the whole time. We barely finished the project before we got extremely bored. Evan kept asking things about me and I tried my best to answer his questions even when they made me feel uncomfortable. 

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I get it if it’s too personal.” Evan shrugged.

“I don’t mean to be so secretive. I just want to keep things to myself that belong to me, if that even makes any sense.” I shook my head.

“It does. You don’t want anyone prying. There is a thing called ‘privacy’ and it isn’t illegal.” He joked.

I scoffed. “Yeah, well. My parents left when I was about 3 or 3 and a half, almost 4. I don’t really know why they wouldn’t take me with them. They wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

“Have you heard from them since then?” He tilted his head.

“No, I don’t have a way of contacting them. I want to go find them when I turn 18 and when I’m legally out of the system. I have no idea how, but I have three years to figure that out.” I said then groaned. Three years! 

“I’d be happy to help you find them now.” Evan said, sitting up.

“What?” I looked at him sharply. What did he mean?

“One of the things no one knows about me, I’m a damn good hacker. Not even my parents know because I would surely not have a phone or computer anymore.” He explained.

“You hack?”

“I hack and I’m really good at finding out information. That is, if you even want my help.” Evan stared at me.

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want your help! Why didn’t you say something before?!” I punched him.

“Ow! Because I didn’t think it mattered to you.” He rubbed his arm.

“Well, I want your help. Please!”

“Ok, ok. Calm down, Kassey. I told you I would do anything you wanted.” A smile showed itself on his face. “Look, after we’re finished, I’ll see what I can do, Ok?” He promised.

“Yeah. That’s cool. Thanks.” I smiled back. I would finally find out something about my parents! I don’t think I even remembered being this happy in a long time since my parents left. 

“You hungry or are you going to pretend you ate something before you left?” Evan asked me.

How did this boy know me so well? “I’m hungry.”

He laughed. “I know a place that makes great gelato.” Evan jumped up then stopped to turn around and face me. “You like gelato, right?”

I shrugged. “I never had it.”

His face dropped. “What?” 

“I never had that. I’ve had water ice?” I said. What the hell was gelato?

“Díos mío. You hurt me sometimes, Kassey. What have you been eating all your life?” Evan frowned at me. 

“What is gelato?” I ignored the fact that he spoke in spanish. 

“Gelato is basically frozen yogurt. You want to go or do you want to rummage in the kitchen?” Evan asked, sounding impatient.

“We can go.” I grabbed my bag and followed Evan out of the door. 

“Do you live by yourself?” I asked as we were on the road.

“Nope, I have a brother, sister, and live with my parents. They all went out of town last week.” Evan explained.

“Wait, they left you here? For over a week?” I asked him, shocked.

“Yep.” His voice sounded bleek. 

“Why? I hardly find that fair.” I said angrily.

“Well, I’m the alborotador. The bad seed in the family. Plus, I’m the youngest. They said they wanted a peaceful vacation for a few weeks.” He shrugged.

“When are they coming back?” 

“I don’t know. They didn’t say, but you know what?” Evan looked at me before facing the road again.

“What?”

“I’m kinda glad I didn’t go. If I did, I wouldn’t have met you.” 

I felt my face get hot but I didn’t acknowledge it. Getting ice cream sounded really good all of a sudden. We drove the rest of the way in silence. Evan drove me to Rita’s and he said he was determined to get me a gelato so he could say he was the first to get me to eat one. I rolled my eyes but I was genuinely interested. 

We walked up and got in the long line. I don’t think I have ever seen a line as long as the one we stood in now. It was both a fascination and an irritation. 

Evan saw my face. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you always do this?” I point to the line.

“Not always, but yeah. It’s not normally this bad when I come.” He angled his head towards the front.

“How much money do you spend?” I ask remembering the lunch and now this.

“Not as much as you think. The guy at the grill gives me a discount in exchange for me doing whatever he wants. Plus, I always have stashes of cash somewhere.” He whispered the last part.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. “I love it when you do that!” 

We got to the front and Evan ordered two strawberry gelatos. He gave me one and he watched me as I ate it. 

“Wow.” That was all I could say.

“Is that a good, ‘wow,’ or…?”

“It’s good. It’s really good.” I said, sounding surprised. When I watched them make it, I was horrified by the thought of having to eat one. 

“Yay!” Evan devoured his ice cream and waited for me to finish before we headed to the car.

“Where are we going?” I asked him as I looked at the clock. It was almost six. 

“I know you may have to get back, but I want to take you somewhere first.” Evan said.

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise. I’m sure you’ll like it.” He said confidently. 

I looked out the window and watched the trees fly by us as we sped down the road. It seemed like we weren’t in Baytonwood anymore and it was really confirmed when I saw a sign that said we were leaving town.

“Where are we going?” I turned to him.

A crooked smile showed itself on Evan’s face. I tilted my head but knew he wasn’t going to tell me. This boy is weird, I thought. Moments later, Evan took me to a place of trees, bushes, flowers, and shrubs. He pulled into the grass and turned off the car. 

“We are in the middle of nowhere, Evan” I complained.

“Not really. Trust me, Kassey. You will have fun.” He promised.

Evan and I went hiking through the woods. I had never been hiking before and I knew I sucked at it, but Evan didn’t complain. He helped me regain my balance from time to time and he pointed out a few animals that we came across. I actually had fun. 

“What’s your favorite animal? I asked as we walked.

“My favorite animal would be a wolf.”

“A wolf?” 

“Yeah. Wolves take authority and they do whatever they have to in order to survive. I respect that. Also, people take advantage of them. I feel bad for them sometimes.” Evan explained. “What’s your favorite animal?” 

“Either a husky or a blue jay.” I responded as I rubbed my hands along tree bark.

“So you like blue.” 

“I like blue, yes, but I like Crimson more. I also like lynxes.” I turned my head to see Evan looking at me. “What?” 

“Why don’t you like letting people in?” He suddenly asked.

“Because it doesn’t help anything.” I answered calmly.

“You’re afraid of commitment. Why are you so sure that people will hurt you?” Evan put his hands in his pockets and waited for me to answer.

“Because everytime I did open up to people, I was let down and they were taken from me. Some of those people made me wish I didn’t show them who I was.” I stared at the ground as I talked.

“You can’t keep hiding yourself, Kassey. There are people who you can trust. You just have to find them.” Evan stepped closer to me and took my hand in his. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You will see that not everything about the world is horrible.”

He kissed my hand and I smiled. I was actually enjoying being here with Evan. It took my mind off of things and he made me happy. Evan and I kept hiking until the sky turned dark. I couldn’t see as we tried to retrace our steps back to the car. Evan turned on the flashlight on his phone as we walked. I stopped and looked up at the sky for a moment.

Evan looked back when he realized I had stopped. “What’s wrong?” He walked up to me.

“Nighttime is beautiful.” There was a full moon tonight. It was my favorite moon because of the fables of supernatural stories my parents would tell me. 

Evan looked up at the sky. I couldn’t see his face clearly but I could tell he was thinking. “Yeah, the moon is full. It always makes the sky look brighter than it’s supposed to be.” He responded. 

I moved myself slightly to get a look at his face. The light luminated enough to show a thoughtful and concentrated expression. I could see the longness of his eyelashes and the sparkle of his brown eyes as he looked at the sky. His hands moved to his pockets as he gently rocked back and forth on his heels. Evan didn’t notice me staring at him until I slowly moved from the tree. His head angled towards me and I could no longer see his face clearly. I kept walking towards him and he waited until we were face to face with each other. Evan moved one hand and placed it on my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. His hand was warm and it felt good on my cold skin. 

“Close your eyes.” He said softly.

I slowly closed my eyes again, and for a moment, nothing happened. As I was wondering what he was doing, I felt his lips on mine. They lingered hungry and wanting, but also hesitant. I responded back slowly as not to seem desperate, but I was taken aback when he kissed me. I didn’t expect him to respond to me that way. Did he feel something for me or was this a “in the moment” thing? 

Evan gently backed us against a tree and deepened the kiss. His lips moved to my neck and I leaned my head back. My body became warmer and it felt like electrical currents were moving through my veins. I gasped as everything suddenly looked clearer. Evan moved down my arm then back to my mouth. 

“Evan...Evan...” I stopped and touched my forehead to his.

We sat there breathing heavily. Everything around us seemed to stand still. My body felt like it was on vibrate. I had never kissed a boy and enjoyed it. 

“We can stop if you want. I don’t want to push you.” He said breathlessly. 

I gave him a quick kiss which he quickly responded to. Evan wrapped his arms around my waist and I tangled my hands in his hair. Evan pulled me closer to him and we stayed like that for a while. I didn’t know exactly what happened, but we ended up on the ground. I had slipped on a loose part of the mulch below the tree and took Evan with me. We laid there laughing for a while. 

“I am such a clutz.” I said chuckling. 

“It’s fine. I think that was the universe trying to tell us something.” 

“Tell us what?” I propped myself up on my elbows.

“That we didn’t want to do anything we might regret.” He stared at the sky.

“You regret what happened?” I could hear the hurt in my voice.

He did, too. He quickly sat up. “No, I don’t regret what happened. Not at all. I meant that we wouldn’t want to take it too far. I know we kinda just met and I don’t want to make you feel a certain way.” He explained.

“I loved it, Evan. I don’t regret it either.” I crawled to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek. I saw a shadow of Evan’s hand raise to touch his cheek and I imagined a smile on his face.

“Are you ready to go?” Evan asked me as he stood up.

“Not really.” I muttered. I didn’t want to end this moment. I still felt the effects of his kiss and my body still felt like it was electric. I had never felt this way and I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could. Before we got into the car, my phone buzzed repeatedly. I reached into my pocket and was blinded by the light as I turned it on. The screen was filled with messages and phone calls from Cameron, Hayley, and Jason. How did they get my number?

Hayley: “Where the hell are you? Answer your phone!” 

Hayley: “Kassey, I am tired of these games. I know you are out with Evan, but you are still supposed to check your phone!” 

Cameron: “Kassey, please answer your phone. Mom’s getting worried. We are all worried. Please text me back.” 

Hayley: “Kassey, if I don’t hear back from you in the next five minutes, I am calling the police. You better answer the phone! Now!” 

Cameron: “Kassey, I don’t know what you are doing or where you are, but this is really starting to freak people out. Did you lose your phone? Please text us or call us. Hayley’s pacing and keeping us all awake until you come back. She’s also threatening to call the police, but Jason and I are trying to dissuade her from doing that. Please tell us where you are. We are worried. We love you.” 

4 missed calls from Hayley.

2 missed calls from Cameron.

5 missed calls from Jason.

It was almost nine o’ clock. I cursed under my breath. I really messed up. I didn’t even hear my phone ring and I never really thought to check what time it was. I told Evan what happened and he sped us back to the house. When we pulled up to the driveway, I jumped out of the car. All of the lights in the house were on.

He rolled down the window. “Do you want me to come in? I can help explain what happened.”

“No, I think that will make things worse. Plus, I don’t want you getting blasted. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, okay?” I said hurriedly.

Evan nodded and drove off. I turned towards the house and ran inside. 

It was bright when I opened the door and I could feel the tension in the house. I knew I was in for something. I closed the door and walked into the living room and faced five angry and worried faces.

“I can explain.”

“Where the hell were you?! Do you know how worried we all were?!” Hayley screamed.

“Hayley--”

“We thought something happened to you! You didn’t call or text!” 

“I didn’t hear my phone and I didn’t get the texts--”

“You could've told us you were going to be late, Kassey.” Jason chimed in.

“Well, I didn’t know--”

“Where were you? What were you doing that was so important that you couldn’t even bother to send a small text?” Hayley asked bitterly.

I didn’t say anything. Hayley rolled her eyes and scoffed. Jade and Aliyah looked at everyone with tired expressions.

“Say something!” 

“Quit yelling! I don’t have to tell you a damn thing! I’m sorry I made you worry, but you don’t have to know everything I do!” I yelled back.

“I am your mother--”

“You are not my mother! Don’t you ever say that! You will never be my mother!” I felt my temper flare. How could she even say that to me? 

“Kassey, you can’t talk to her like that.” Cameron said slowly.

“You’re right. I can’t. I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings and I’m sorry for not doing what I was told. I wanted to hang out with a friend and it happened to run over a little late. Sorry I have such a crappy phone and I couldn’t text you the juicy details!” I said angrily. 

I saw Jason flinch and I immediately felt bad for upsetting him again. Aliyah started crying and that made me feel worse. I ran up to my room and slammed the door.