Page 136 of Alphas Like Us

Flying drones over private property is a gray legal area, but coming onto private property to shoot footage of me is pretty muchillegal.

Paparazzi always stay on the sidewalk for a reason. As long as journalists don’t use telephoto lenses to look into my bedroom and don’t harass or trespass, they can get away with a hell of a lot on publicproperty.

“You okay?” Farrowasks.

“I’m going to check on Luna and Jane, and then I’ll call the Tri-Force to handle it.” Anything that veers into lawsuit territory, they dealwith.

“Okay, but that’s not what I asked,” he says in that matter-of-fact voice. I miss the face that goes withit.

I stand in a darkened room with wailing wind, creaking wood, and a camera drone thwacking glass. And the only thing that frightens me isloneliness.

I wish you werehere.

I can’t tell him that. I can’t make this harder for him than it already is. Because I know it’s already destroying him that he can’t be next to me. I’m not stabbing another blade into thewound.

Threeyears.

“Yeah,” I say, “I’mfine.”

“I’m going to try to come homeearly—”

“No,” I cut him off. “You don’t need to do that, man.” I toss my flashlight on the mattress and pick up thephone.

The line deadens for the longest second. “Can you spend the night in Jane’sroom?”

If it gives him peace of mind while he’s at work, then my answer is a no-brainer. “Yeah. I can dothat.”

“I’m being paged…I have to go,” herushes.

“See you—” I cut myself off before I saysoon.I’m not sure when his shift willend.

“I love you, wolf scout.” It’s the last thing he says. Five longing words that ache greater thansilence.

23

MAXIMOFF HALE

Charlie isthe only one who agrees with my newplan.

That should be a redflag.

Jane and Farrow have excised themselves from the situation “on principle” while the cousin I’ve been feuding with for years has joined my party ofone.

I’m heading into the ER. It looks busy. Won’t be able to text. I’ll call when I can, but I’m going to remind you for the sixteenth time: it’s a bad idea.–Farrow

I reply:Gotit.

We can talk about your unreasonable stubbornness later tonight.–Farrow

We don’t see eye to eye on this issue, and it’s not the first time. It won’t be the last. But it does twist me up knowing the two people who should be in my corner have left it. My fingers hover over my cell, trying to think of something tosay.

I land on this:OK. Love u.I textback.

Love you, too.–Farrow

Soon after that text, another popsup.

Still a bad idea, wolf scout.–Farrow