“When Pidge wakes up, let me know, okay?” he said in a soft voice. “I got spaghetti,and pancakes, and strawberries, and that oatmeal shit with the chocolate packets, and shelikes Fruity Pebbles cereal, right, Mare?” he asked, turning.When he saw me, he froze. After an awkward pause, his expression melted, and hisvoice was smooth and sweet.“Hey, Pigeon.”I couldn’t have been more confused if I had woken up in a foreign country. Nothingmade sense. At first I thought I had been evicted, and then Travis comes home with bagsfull of my favorite foods.He took a few steps into the living room, nervously shoving his hands in his pockets.“You hungry, Pidge? I’ll make you some pancakes. Or there’s uh…there’s some oatmeal.And I got you some of that pink foamy shit that girl’s shave with, and a hairdryer, and a…a….just a sec, it’s in here,” he said, rushing to the bedroom.The door opened, shut, and then he rounded the corner, the color gone from his face.He took a deep breath and his eyebrows pulled in. “Your stuff’s packed.”“I know,” I said.“You’re leaving,” he said, defeated.”

“Night, Pidge,” he whispered, turning over.I fidgeted, not yet ready to sleep. “Trav?” I said, leaning up to rest my chin on his shoulder.“Yeah?”“I know I’m drunk, and we just got into a ginormous fight over this, but….”“I’m not having sex with you, so quit asking,” he said, his back still turned to me.“What? No!” I cried.Travis laughed and turned, looking at me with a soft expression. “What, Pigeon?”

“Travis’ mouth fell open. “Oh, hell no. Are you trying to get me killed? You’ve gotta change, Pidge.”“What?” “Get a t-shirt on…and some sneakers. Something comfortable.”“What? Why?”“Because I’ll be more worried about who’s looking at your tits in that shirt instead of Hoffman,” he said, stopping at his door.“I thought you said you didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought?”“That’s a different scenario, Pigeon.” Travis looked down at my chest and then up at me. “You can’t wear this to the fight, so please…just…please just change,” he stuttered, shoving me into the room and shutting me in.”

“I meant what I said before. You need to walk away, Pidge. God knows I can’t walk away from you.”I touched his arm. “You don’t want me to leave.”Travis’ jaws tensed again, and then he took me under his arm. He paused for a moment, and then kissed my forehead, pressing his cheek against my temple. “It doesn’t matter how hard I try. You’re going to hate me when it’s all said and done.”I wrapped my arms around him. “We have to be friends. I won’t take no for an answer,” I quoted.”

“I’m sorry, Abby. I panicked.”I shook my head. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”“Me? I would have been better off dead if Travis had seen me come out of that building without you. I tried to find you after you ran off, but then I got lost and had to find another way. I walked along the building looking for that window, but I ran into some cops and they made me leave. I’ve been flippin’ the fuck OUT over here!” he said, running his hand over his short hair.”

“Travis ran his hand over the stubble on his scalp, shaking his head. “He didn’t get out,” he whispered. “He didn’t get out, Pidge.”My breath caught as I watched the soot on his cheeks streak with his tears. He fell to his knees and I fell with him.“Trent’s smart, Trav. He got out. He had to have found a different way,” I said, trying to convince myself as well.Travis collapsed into my lap, gripping my shirt with both fists. I held him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“What is that?” I asked, squinting at the vertical symbols.“It’s Hebrew,” Travis smiled.“What does it mean?”“It says, ‘I belong to my beloved, and my beloved is mine.”My eyes darted to his. “You weren’t happy with just one tattoo, you had to get two?”“It’s something I always said I would do when I met The One. I met you…I went and got the tats.” His smile faded when he saw my expression. “You’re pissed, aren’t you?” he said, pulling his shirt down.”