"Sorry." I repeated, dusting off one of the sweaters. We'd been doing this since we finished the grilled cheese. See, Everest, worried from hearing my yell of pain, dropped everything to run into the kitchen, causing the contents of the bags to spill out. "Stop apologizing. It was my fault for getting so freaked out." Everest smiled at me, handing me a full bag of socks. "We're almost done." I commented in relief.

   We'd almost collected everything, when I moved a pair of jeans aside, and my hand brushed something new. It was hard, square, and definitely not clothing. I grabbed it, and saw...

   A book?

   It was clearly new, and, as I looked at the title, I was struck by a wave of nostalgia. "Harvard Smith! I loved this series as a kid!" Suddenly, it was pulled from my hands. I turned around to see Everest hadn't even reacted. He was still folding clothes, and sorting them back into bags. But then where had the book gone? "Huh? What's wrong?" Everest asked, finally looking up. I stared at him for a moment, surveying his expression.

   "I think your house is haunted." I sighed, turning away. Everest didn't seem to be acting, so maybe he wasn't the cause of the book's disappearance. "Really? What makes you say that?"

   Never mind, he'd done something! Everest's voice contained a mild undertone of laughter, as if he was trying to hide it. I looked up, and there was the book, floating idly over my head.

   "Everest?"

   "Yeah?"

   I huffed. Look at him, playing innocent. There was no one else in this house that could do magic! "Everest, why is the book floating?" There was a beat of silence, and then he burst out laughing. "You- ha ha- you sound so dead inside!" Thankfully, Everest was distracted enough to lose concentration, and the book fell safely into my arms. I looked down at it with a smile. It's been so long since I'd read this book, and I was more than a little excited. Sitting down, I leaned against the wall. Quickly, I flipped to page one, and started reading. The introduction was better than I remembered it, and I was soon hooked back into the story.

   Eventually, Everest collected himself, and stood up. He saw me reading, and frowned. "Hey, stop! You're not supposed to read it yet." He crouched down in front of me, and closed the book, but didn't take it away. "This was the surprise I got for you." I paused, looking up. Bright green eyes met my own, and I felt that bewildering emotion again. He'd surprised me with a book from my favorite series, but how? "Wait-wait a second." I could feel my heart racing but from what? Nervousness? Fear? Unease?

   "Yeah? Hey, Rowan, are you okay? Do you feel sick?"

   Everest reached to put a hand on my forehead, but I pushed it away. "Just wait!" Everything needed to stop. He needed to stop knowing me so well, I needed to stop feeling so much, and...

   And I needed to figure everything out. "I don't like this." That was the only thing that came out. Everything else in my thoughts was a mess, but that much was clear. I didn't like not knowing what was going on. I didn't like that Everest wouldn't tell me. I didn't like that I couldn't trust him, but even more than that, I didn't like how I couldn't stop trusting him.

   At my words, Everest froze. "You don't? I assumed you'd still... However, if you're not comfortable, I'll give you more space. Sorry." He got up and started walking away, leaving me alone and confused.

   What had just happened?