186

MAXINE

There was something about spending our last day off in Conrad's house. Maybe it was because it was him, or it was because our lives were finally looking up.

But it was so lighthearted. I had been searching for so long—for something I didn't quite know what it was and it held me down. But here, with Conrad and the others, I was starting to feel like maybe I didn’t have to search anymore. I had everything.

"Oh?" I teased, letting go of him to look at his face. He flipped the pancakes in the pan.

"I have so much more to show you but, you're going to have to stay long enough to find out." He said.

"Don’t worry,” I replied. “I’m not going anywhere. I'm right here."

But even as I said the words with all my heart, a part of me said that it was a lie. It surprised me. Conrad smiled.

After a while, he stacked pancakes on a plate while I removed sausages from a pan. We took them to the kitchen island where there were three stools.

I called Peter and Zel and they came to take their seats.