Kylee choked back a gasp. “Yeah, okay,” she said, aware of the prickly burning creeping up her face and into her hairline. Hot, it was so hot in here. She resisted the urge to run from the store screaming. She pushed opened the door, annoyed by the jingling bell.

Price paced the sidewalk in front of the store. He stopped and stared at her when she appeared, his rigid expression relaxing. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t come out.”

“Okay, that lady was weird.” She stepped up to him, stopping a few inches from him and looking up into his face. “But I don't think she'd get away with kidnapping me.”

“What did she say to you?”

Kylee shrugged. “Nothing that made any sense. Let’s go back to the beach.”

Price found a shady spot where they watched the volleyball game. He lay down in the sand, taking Kylee’s hand and tugging her down next to him. She didn’t try to resist, relishing the warm feeling bubbling up in her chest.

“What time is it?” she asked after what seemed like a few minutes but was probably hours. She watched the sun as it flared overhead.

“Oh. I better check that.” Price sat up and hauled out his phone. He frowned. “Qui est-ce?”

“What?”

“I have a bunch of text messages. No one texts me.”

Kylee leaned closer, peering over his shoulder. The same number had sent him seven messages. He shifted, just enough that her view was blocked.

She tried not to feel shafted. “Who is it?”

“Just Amy.” He blinked out at the ocean and put his phone back in his pocket. “Something about a French project. Come on. Let’s play in the water.” He stood up, brushing the sand from his shorts.

They toed along the edge for a bit before Kylee got brave enough to walk in up to her ankles. Price stayed close beside her, his hands out as if he were ready to catch her at any moment.

“I’m not going to fall,” she said, laughing as she walked back to the sand, carrying her tennis shoes in one hand.

“Hey.” He grabbed her left hand and stared at her fingers. “Where’d you get that ring?”

Kylee pulled her hand away and examined it. The ring already had a bluish glow to it. “The lady in the shop gave it to me.”

“She gave it to you?”

“Yes. I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you think.”

“I wasn’t saying that at all. It’s just weird. No one gives away things.” He couldn’t take his eyes from the ring. “Can I see it?”

She hesitated. “It’s kind of tight. I don’t think I’ll be able to get it off.”

He scowled. “Tight on your hand? Uh-huh.”

“It is. See?” She made a show of twisting it around.

“Whatever, Kylee. I just wanted to see it.”

He plopped into the sand, and Kylee collapsed beside him. They sat in silence, Kylee wondering why she didn’t want to give the ring to him. “Are you mad I won’t show you?”

He lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “No. I just think it’s weird.” He gave a half-grin. “Like it’s your precious or something.”

“I guess it’s precious.”

He sat up, the overhead sun lighting up his face when he smiled. “No, like ‘Precious.’”

“Right.” She nodded. “I heard you.”

He laughed out loud. “No way. You’re kidding me.”

She stared at him, waiting for the joke to become obvious.

He placed a hand on her forearm, his eyes flicking from his hand to her face. “You’ve never seen Lord of the Rings.”

The same could be said for every movie ever made. “Right.”

He swished his hands together, grains of sand falling onto his knees. “That’s it. You’ve got to see it. No, listen. We’ll watch it. Like a total movie marathon. You’re gonna love it.”

She nodded. She’d watch anything Price wanted.

He stood up, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. His thumb pressed against the stone in her ring, and she glanced at him, wondering if he was trying to get to it. But his eyes were on the horizon, and his grip had already changed.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s walk toward the bay.” He shouldered his bag, the plastic sack with the tires poking out of the top.

They spent a half hour walking barefoot through the sand before Price decided they’d better go home. A knot of dread formed in her stomach at the thought. She’d avoided acknowledging the fact that at some point she’d have to face Bill and her mom.

“Do we have to?” Kylee murmured, following Price back to the cobblestone walkway.

He didn’t answer. He fished into his bag and pulled out his phone. “Hey, Dad. It’s me. I’ll catch the three-thirty bus. Yeah. Thanks.” He shoved the phone back in his bag.

“Will your dad be okay giving me a ride home?” Kylee asked, pulling her hair into a ponytail. The hair felt thick and gross from the sea breeze and spray.

“Huh? Yeah, of course. He won’t notice you.”

Kylee rolled her eyes. Wasn’t that the truth? No one did.

The bus ride home was pretty quiet. Kylee stared out the window, the scenery less exciting now that she knew she was moving closer to home. She turned to Price, who rested with his head against the back of the seat, eyes closed.

“Are you sleeping?” she whispered.

“No,” he murmured, peeking one eye open.

She smiled at him, and he smiled back, which relieved her. “Are you okay?”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Tired, I guess.”

His hands were clasped in his lap. Gathering her courage, Kylee reached forward and touched his knuckle. Price turned his hand around enough to grasp her fingers, tugging them into his grip.

“I had a nice day today,” she said, her fingers tingly where he touched her. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, his eyes sliding shut.

Kylee turned her attention back to the window. Life couldn’t be so bad, not now that she had Price right next door.

She thought he’d fallen asleep until he whispered, “Kylee. I don’t get you.”

“What do you mean?” She faced him again, but he hadn’t opened his eyes.

He squeezed her fingers. “Rien. Nothing.”

“Okay. How do you know French, and why do you keep speaking in it? Are you French or not?”

“Kind of. My mom was, so my sister and I are citizens. It was important to her that we know French. She spoke to us in French. I wasn’t great at speaking it until she took me with her to France a few years ago.”

True to form, when Mr. Hudson’s car pulled up, he didn’t say anything to Kylee. Nor did Lisa, who played a game on a small screen in her hands. Kylee sat in the back next to her, hoping she’d turn on the TV, but she didn’t. With a sigh, Kylee leaned back in her seat and pressed her head against the window.

“How was the beach?” Mr. Hudson asked.

“Fine,” Price said. “I went to Route 58. And bought some bike tires.”

I? Kylee thought.

Price leaned around the front seat and pulled the tires out of the bag at Kylee’s feet. His eyes lifted enough to catch her gaze, and he winked. Her irritation melted away.

“These are them.” He showed the tires to his dad.

“That’s great, son,” Mr. Hudson said, not taking his eyes from the road. “I should’ve taken you already. I’m glad you got some for yourself.”

“Yeah. And Mr. Riley says hi.”

“That was nice,” he said, but Kylee heard the strain in his voice.

Price didn’t mention the strange little shop they’d gone into.

Mr. Hudson pulled the BMW into the garage and parked it underneath a rack of bikes hanging from the ceiling. Kylee hadn’t noticed them before.

Price opened her car door, and Kylee climbed out. She stared at the spinning tires above her while he got his sack.

“You coming inside?” his dad asked, holding the door to the house open while Lisa disappeared down the hall.

“In a moment. Thanks for taking me.”

“Sure.” Mr. Hudson closed the door, and Price turned to Kylee.

She cleared her throat. “Thanks for today. And . . . last night.” Her neck warmed, and she had to clench her hands to keep from fanning her face.

He smiled. “Yeah. It was fun.”

She gestured outside. “I should get home now.”

“Want me to walk you there?”

“Nah.” Kylee shook her head. “It will attract less attention if I sneak in.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Beg for mercy, I guess.”

“All right.” He half-turned, and then swiveled back around. “Listen, if you need to come over here, that’s fine. You can stay. As much as you want.”

“Thanks. But I should be all right.”

“Yeah. I’m sure.” He gave a small wave. “Well. I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” Kylee echoed, backing out of the garage. Her own dilapidated house faced her, looking shabbier than ever after the bright, spotless interior of Price’s house.

May as well get this over with. Kylee opened the gate and crossed over to her yard.

She stopped short when she noticed the blue pick-up was gone. Had Bill sold it? He never used it because the back was rusted out, but maybe some of the parts still worked. As cluttered and overrun as the yard was, the spot vacated by the truck looked naked and bare.

The window was closed to her bedroom, and Kylee knew she’d left it slitted open. Which meant her absence had been noticed. She pictured Bill coming into her room and blowing a gasket when he didn’t find her.

The window wasn’t locked, and Kylee managed to get enough of a wedge to pry it open. She slipped inside, heart already pounding. A glance at the ring on her finger showed the electric blue changing to a deeper blue, as if being swallowed up by mist.

Her bed was made, a ragged teddy bear sitting on top of the pillow. The chair had been tucked into the desk, the whole room picked up and put together. Definitely her mom’s doing and not Bill’s. Kylee’s skin prickled at the thought of someone going through her stuff.

The only sound from the rest of the house was the television. Steeling herself for the worst, Kylee opened the door and went into the dining area.