“Well,sometimes if something is really important to you, itgets stuck in your body,” he said, poking her ribs andmaking her laugh. “So even if your mind thinks that it’sgone, it’s still in there, kind of hiding inside of you, justwaiting for you to remember. It never goes away.”

“Hey, Lauren?” he called, and she stopped so abruptly her bag slid off her shoulder. She caught it at the last second and turned, her expression taken aback.Del smirked. “Don’t be so surprised that I know your name. You’re not as invisible as you think you are.”She closed her mouth, looking at him. “I’m not gonna stop calling you Red, though” he added casually.”

“You look new right now,” he finally said.“New?” He nodded. “Like you just discovered yourself.” Andie felt something jolt through her veins as he added, “It’s hard to explain, but I wish you could see it. It looks good on you.”

“Are you gonna put your shirt back on?” she blurted out. Chase froze, looking over his shoulder at her with the most maddening smile. “Why? Is this bothering you?” “I just…” Andie sputtered, floundering through her response. “I mean, what if we get pulled over or something?” “If we get pulled over, this could only work in your favor,” he said, running his hands over his chest. Andie tried to stifle a laugh. “My God, you’re insufferable.”

“I think it’s sad that we’ll never know her,” Chase said. She glanced over at him suspiciously. “Think of how many people there are in the world that you’ll never know. Like that guy right there,” he said, nodding toward the car that whizzed by them. “What’s that guy’s name? Where’s he going? Is he happy with his life? Did he want Bella to end up with Edward or Jacob?”

“Maybe something bad would have happened if this guy didn’t slow you down when he did. Maybe this is your guardian angel, looking out for you.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” she finally said.“What?” Chase scoffed as his eyes flashed back to hers. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”“Why?”“Because it’s total horseshit,” he laughed. “That’s just some crap people say when something bad happens and they have no way to explain it. It’s a pathetic way to try and make somebody feel better. And if anything, it has the reverse effect.”Andie shrugged. “I disagree.”“Anytime anyone has ever said that to me, it just made me want to punch them in the face.”“That’s because you’re an asshole,” she said matter-of factly.”