Chapter 82

• ALAYNA
• Brandon and I go for a stroll in a quiet residential street around my apartment. I texted Mom an excuse about bumping into a friend, adding that I’d be back soon. I just don’t know how she will react when I tell her Brandon is here. She still resents him, and I can’t blame her.
• We are holding hands like a normal couple walking on the streets, our fingers intertwined as though nothing happened for the past five months, and it’s all so astonishing I can’t believe it’s real.