Will tells me he couldn’t find me the previous night, even though he kept searching. I feel a prickle of guilt. I should have found him last night and told him to go back to his dormitory.905Please respect copyright.PENANAUPV3ymPp1h
905Please respect copyright.PENANAitmjwbbBSN
I’m afraid of what he might think of me, but I still tell him about the classroom and ask for his opinion. I hesitantly tell him Roanna’s idea about the psychiatric hospital.905Please respect copyright.PENANAlLF0ipAo6Q
905Please respect copyright.PENANAGtyAg2sLhm
“It was a lunatic asylum?” he says. “So what is it now?”905Please respect copyright.PENANA3oightVSQT
905Please respect copyright.PENANAd1G8KAHQ5F
“Ha, ha,” I say, leaning against the closest tree to block out the window.905Please respect copyright.PENANAUHhdopUFU2
905Please respect copyright.PENANAtWDvXsaEfq
I would prefer to hang out with Will indoors, but he prefers to be outside—even in the rain. He’s a complete nutter, but that’s probably what I love most about him.905Please respect copyright.PENANAgaZUqVQUc9
905Please respect copyright.PENANAGver8uM9Uy
“I wouldn’t worry about the ghosts,” he says, sitting down in front of me.905Please respect copyright.PENANA2SFL972Evi
905Please respect copyright.PENANAPVrVlr3bqm
“You didn’t see them, though.” I shudder as the scene flashes before my eyes. “I will never again roll my eyes when someone has a ghost sighting.”905Please respect copyright.PENANAq1nKfw7hIW
905Please respect copyright.PENANATdMceSALeN
Will closes the space between us and laces his fingers through mine. They feel light and cool. He looks like he’s about to say something but closes his mouth and turns away.905Please respect copyright.PENANAmJWsQaiXMN
905Please respect copyright.PENANACxj10bKIUF
“What is it?” I gently squeeze his hand.905Please respect copyright.PENANAtt7Cim5JJ8
905Please respect copyright.PENANAE5W6wXaTwd
He looks at me as if deliberating and finally says, “I have a surprise for you. I wasn’t going to show you until the spring.”905Please respect copyright.PENANAMz0LgzbvNp
905Please respect copyright.PENANADGkGVWvUlk
“Oh, what is it?” I say, glad for a distraction and warmed at the thought that Will has something for me. “I suck at being patient. Please tell me.”905Please respect copyright.PENANAJbLzishgK2
905Please respect copyright.PENANA2wDKMabNNt
He stands without letting go and helps me to my feet, smiling. “How can I refuse? I’ll show you.”905Please respect copyright.PENANAR9YT4oF3qm
905Please respect copyright.PENANAm1LbkxEmAi
We walk hand-in-hand through the grounds, but none of the other students spares us even a glance. It isn’t that I want attention, but it surprises me that nobody is the least bit curious about the girl Will Poynter is holding hands with.905Please respect copyright.PENANAEo2YyUNdrm
905Please respect copyright.PENANAaR2keuqZf2
He leads me unnoticed to a hidden away corner of the garden and gestures to some flowering shrubs.905Please respect copyright.PENANAs0ToIgo9kr
905Please respect copyright.PENANAS033gjEtnv
“Pretty,” I say, stepping toward them and smelling. They don’t smell like much.905Please respect copyright.PENANAqucHLiYC3h
905Please respect copyright.PENANABZl7Ls4Mhf
“Camellias,” he says. “I’ve been growing them for you.”905Please respect copyright.PENANA35eeqEcmQF
905Please respect copyright.PENANAPlj11n0Ezf
I stare at him, my eyes filming over. Nobody has ever done anything half as sweet for me. I want to tell him so, but instead, I just say, “Thank you.”905Please respect copyright.PENANA0TMlneTqgD
905Please respect copyright.PENANAp7QozNrWeO
He leans like he’s about to kiss me, but then pulls away at the last moment. The pounding of my pulse fizzles into disappointment. You would think two years is long enough, wouldn’t you?905Please respect copyright.PENANAdvPDcNCjyi