Page 17 of Into the Fire: Before

“And, of course, there were no other vacancies in our price range that didn’t look like the set of a true crime documentary, so we’ll be homeless.”

She gave me a pinch in my side, and I pulled away, finally loosing a single breath of a laugh.

“You,” she said, “are a pain.”

“I love you too.”

“Everything is just fine. But now, I’m officially late, so I gotta run.”

Shit.Just one more thing to add to the list of my fuckups of the last twenty-four hours.

“And,” she said as she stood, shooting me with a trying-and-failing-to-be-stern glare, “no more catastrophizing, you hear me?”

“Whatever you say,” I answered with a weak salute. Damn, she was cute when she tried to be in charge.

She just rolled her eyes and gave a crooked smile. She opened the front door, checking the outside of it, and grinned as she swung it all the way in so I could see the exterior face. “And lookie here, no eviction notice. See? Everything is—”

Shattering glass had me up and out of bed in a flash, coming to Taryn’s side at the door. My heart pounded, searching for the source.

It was a small clear vase planted right outside our door. Or, rather, ithad beena vase. Now it was a jumble of glass shards in a puddle of water, two long-stem white roses lying amongst them.

“Ah, shoot,” Taryn bent down quickly, picking up a piece of thick cardstock that had been folded in half and left next to the vase. We exchanged a glance before she flicked open the note.

Hope your ankle isn’t as bruised as our egos. Let us make it up to you?

Spire Lounge, Friday night, 7:00.

Sincerely, Brooks & Lin

We both stared at the note in stunned silence.Theywere taking responsibility for the debacle last night?Ishould've been apologizing tothem!

“Well,” Taryn said, tone smug, “safe to say they’re harboring no grudges, don't you think?”

Two phone numbers were listed at the bottom, unlabeled. A postscript had been added just above them:Enjoy some text roulette!

Against my will, the corners of my lips drew up. The PS absolutely screamed Brooks, and the suave main message was extremely Lin-coded. They worked well together.

Could they work well with us?

Couldwework well withthem?

Twenty-eight

Unknown

Hello stalker.

Brooks

I’d say I wasn’t sure if that was a flirty “hello stalker” or a pissed “hello stalker,” but that period is doing the screaming for you.

Unknown

Really? Huh. Guess my phone skipped that update.

Brooks

omg, we’re so donezo, aren’t we?

---