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“She said he was a gentleman.” Mr. Geier sounded flustered and lost. “And that he was an all-star athlete. She said he was good at cooking and kind to everyone. This is what I’ve been worried about. I know that’s her type, but I can’t recall anyone at your school like that.”
I pulled my phone from my ear, staring down at it. Was she insane?
What was she plotting now?
“Is that what she said?” I forced myself to remain detached. Calm. “That’s weird. I don’t think I know anyone like that either.”
Although, Miles fit that description. But he wasn’t at our school.
And she didn’t know him yet.
“I know that we already ask a lot from you but, please, keep a closer eye on her for a time? She’s been acting strange lately,” he pleaded. “Jumpy and secretive. Something isn’t right, and I’m still trying to get used to this unexpected situation.”
Well, that was new. I’d never heard him this panicked before.
“Unexpected situation…” I ventured, not expecting him to answer. After all, I was only a teenager. Why would he confide in me?
“Teenage romances,” Mr. Geier replied with a sigh. “Hanah was so easy, and discrete. I didn’t even realize that her girlfriends wereactualgirlfriends, and not just best friends, until she was out the house. But boys are different than girls too.”
I frowned. Well, that was insulting. “What’s wrong with boys?”
He was silent, then cautiously said, “Would you like me to go into detail about how a teenage boy’s mind really works? It’s been quite a while for me, but Iknow.”
I blinked, my face heating as some of myowndaydreams raced through my thoughts—and quite a bit of them featuredhisdaughter.
“Um… no.” But there was another thing bugging me, something that was missing from his initial reaction, but that I hadn’t realized until tonight that I expected. “Sir… can I ask…” I couldn’t quite figure out how to phrase this—not without sounding too interested in the results. “Well…”
“Just spit it out, Finn,” Mr. Geier replied.
“Don’t youcareif Bianca goes out with someone?” I ventured, my palms beginning to sweat in nervous excitement. “I thought that…”
She wasn’t allowed.
While the Xingcouldgo out—to have fun just so long as nothing was serious—it was different for her.
“No,” Mr. Geier said. “I’m not an idiot. If we lived in a perfect world, I would not stop Bianca from… exploring… that aspect.”
She was allowed to date casually. Then maybe… “Does that mean—”
“However, Bianca’s situation is unique. She’s made no progress in therapy. In fact, Trinity is wholly against her entering a romantic relationship until she works through her trauma. Bianca has no idea how to establish boundaries.”
My stomach dropped. “What do you mean?”
“If she ever became open to the idea of exploring that aspect of a relationship, her partner would have to beextremelycautious,” Mr. Geier said. “Bianca is not likely to speak up and would do things she doesn’t want just to make her partner happy. That’s how she believes a physical relationship works. It would be very easy to take advantage of her.”
My skin felt cold—I’d never thought about that before.
“So,” Mr. Geier said cautiously, “we need to be careful about anyone Bianca is interested in now.”
I was quiet, considering this, and my heart sunk.
“There’s only one sort I would trust with her,” Mr. Geier concluded. “That person would have to care for her deeply. It couldn’t be someone looking for a casual fling.”
My hope had been dampened under the heavy truth of his words. “Yeah…” I muttered. “You’re right.” An old, constant concern flared up—but for an entirely different reason now. “What about her quintet?”
There was a lot known, and a lot unknown, about their past lives. The only ultimate truth was that, eventually, everything came full circle.
There was a short pause before Mr. Geier finally said, “I would hope when that time comes, they’d be considerate of her situation. I haven’t seen many of my friends or my quintet in a long time.” I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “But it’s been necessary,” he sounded regretful.
