Chapter 27

I consider rolling over and going back to sleep when I get off the phone with Jake, but after twenty minutes of forcing my eyes to stay closed, I give up and head to the bathroom.

I hesitate outside Eli's door, but I don't bother knocking. He'll still be asleep, and even though a small, cruel part of me thinks if I'm awake, then he should be too, he wasn't the one who woke me up at the crack of dawn on a weekend. I'll let him sleep.

By 8:45 a.m., I'm dressed and sitting on one of the bottom steps, my stomach churning with unease as I wait. I don't even know why I feel so nervous, but I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost miss the creaking of the gate as it's pushed open outside. Almost. Thankfully, I hear it, and I get to the front door and pull it open mere seconds before Jake can knock on it. His hand is raised ready to rap down, and he blinks in surprise when he finds his knuckles knocking on fresh air, where there had been a wooden door only moments before.

Iris