Story:

Bill stepped closer to Violet.

Too close, Peach thought.

Violet remained still. At that distance, she could feel the faint rhythm of his heartbeat through the narrow space between them.

“You agreed to meet me,” Bill said. “So let’s stop wasting time.”

His confidence had recovered with remarkable speed. “Be my girlfriend.”

Behind the door, Peach’s fingers tightened around the handle.

Bill smiled.

“I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself here. Whatever you need—shopping, restaurants, somewhere better to spend your weekends. You won’t have to worry about any of it.”

Yoshiro leaned against the fence, looking pleased with an arrangement that had yet to occur.

Peach stared through the gap.

The note. Of course. Violet had come because of the note.

And now Bill was offering her a comfortable life with the assurance of someone presenting a fact rather than asking a question.

Peach searched her friend’s face.

Violet’s unfamiliarity with this world was alarming enough when it involved shopping baskets and light switches. Here, with Bill standing in front of her, it made Peach’s stomach tighten.