As stealthily as possible, I find myself slipping inside Cruz's room, shutting and locking the door behind me. My movements are almost undetectable, practically noiseless, but my heart pumps anxiously in my chest, nonetheless. I'm so fucking nervous.

Is this how Cruz feels every time he sneaks into my room?

I shuffle towards his bed. His body is outlined beneath the covers. Even in the shadows, I can make out the rise and fall of his chest. I then take a deep breath and, before I lose my nerve, climb onto the mattress beside him.

I'm going to tell him about Persie.

I'm going to let him decide whether or not he still wants me.

If he chooses to stay with me, then I'm going to go balls to the wall and make these next few months as memorable and special as possible for the both of us.

As the springs creak beneath my weight, Cruz stirs with a confused, groggy-sounding mumble, "Athena... is that you?"

I whisper, "Yeah, it's me."

His brow furrows. It's immediately followed by a frown. He demands, "What are you—"

I panic a little at Cruz's not-so-warm reception.

Is he going to send me away?

I don't give him a chance to finish his sentence. The words burst out of me in a hurry, "I hate the way we left things earlier."

Cruz grunts, "Huh?"

He sounds half-asleep.

With an earnest expression, I confess, "I came to find you again because I didn't wanna leave the wrong impression. I care about you, Cruz. Please believe me when I say that I wanted to tell you about Persie sooner, but—"

My voice trembles slightly as my breath catches with emotion.

His eyes widen in concern as he pulls me towards him, tucking me into his arms. "Hey, it's okay..."

"No, it's not," I mutter unhappily. "Nothing feels okay right now."

I'm dreading to tell him about my intentions to adopt Persie because, afterwards, I don't know if he'll want to keep dating me.

What if Cruz wants to break up?

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach at this depressing possibility.

Oblivious to my internal turmoil, Cruz plants a comforting kiss on my temple and murmurs, "Relax, baby. Everything is fine now."

Does he really mean it?

I can't help but doubt him.

"You seemed a little upset when you left my room, though," I comment with worried eyes. "Are you still... upset?"

Cruz flashes me a look of discomfort. "I admit, I felt like you were kicking me out earlier, and I was really surprised to learn that you had a sister. It caught me off guard. And it sucked not knowing about someone who was so important to you—until now. So, yeah, I was a little upset. But not anymore. I'm really happy that you came. To find me."

"Yeah?" I ask tentatively.

"Yeah," he confirms with a smile. "Stay with me tonight. We can sort this shit out tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

No, that won't do.

I cough. "Actually..."

"What?"

Anxiety fills my chest when I request, "Do you think we can talk about it... now? Or are you too tired?"

Cruz flips me over so we're lying face-to-face and nods. "Sure, we can talk. If you want."

Ah, shit.

Here we go.

I groan, "God, I don't even know where to begin."

His eyes narrow slightly. "Should I be concerned? What's wrong?"

In a faint voice, I start, "Well, I'll be turning eighteen in May."

Confusion fills his eyes as though he doesn't know where this conversation is headed, but he doesn't rush me. Cruz simply stares at me cautiously, waiting for me to continue.

"Once I'm eighteen, Persie and I have this... agreement."

"What kind of agreement?"

I release a slow, shaky breath as the hard, complicated truth finally slides out, "At eighteen, it'll finally be legal for me to file adoption papers. To become Persie's legal guardian."

Cruz's arms tense around me. Shock floods his face. "Wait... what? You wanna become her... guardian?"

My jaw sets determinedly. "Yes. My sister should be living with me. Not a bunch of strangers."

He stammers, "Shit, Athena, that's... a huge fucking commitment! This is your whole future we're talking about!"

"Persie's future matters, too," I add quietly. "She's only eleven-years-old. I'm not gonna leave her in the foster care system over the next seven years. Especially since I'll be old enough to do something about it."

"Damn, baby," Cruz whispers as his eyes brim with an unreadable emotion, "you're something else."

He must think I'm crazy.

"I'm not crazy," I insist.

"I never said that you were crazy," he murmurs. "Aren't you scared, though?"

"Oh, believe me, I'm fucking terrified," I admit, "but I'd rather be scared with Persie than without her!"

His expression softens. "I see."

Is that pity I see in his eyes?

Or something else?

Either way, he definitely thinks I'm crazy.

Averting my gaze, I will myself to press on, "After graduation, I plan to move to New Jersey. To be closer to Persie. Until the adoption process is finalized, anyway. I don't know how long it'll take. I've been told that some cases can drag on for more than a year."

"Jesus, Athena," Cruz mutters.

That's all he gives me.

Jesus, Athena.

What does that even mean?

What's running through his head?

I'm a jumble of nerves when I glance back at him. Cruz doesn't say anything else for the longest time. As I wait for some kind of response, any kind of reaction, really, my heart feels like it's about to hammer its way out of my chest. The suspense is killing me. This is the moment of truth.

Does Cruz still want me?

I decide to set aside my dignity and my pride.

Without shame, I offer him a no-strings-attached kind of deal, "We can try to stay together until graduation and break things off after I move to New Jersey."

Grimacing, he rejects my suggestion right away, "No."

My face falls. "No?"

He doesn't want me, like, at all anymore?

Remaining stone-faced and silent, Cruz doesn't supply another word. My heart feels like it's going to shatter. Just a tiny bit.

Nervously, I start to ramble just to cancel out the painful silence, "I-I totally understand if this is too much for you. You can back out of whatever the fuck we're doing right now. We can just be friends or something. I'll do whatever you want."

Every single one of these words make me want to cry. My eyelids start blinking rapidly to hold back my tears.

Just then, Cruz closes his eyes. He appears to be deep in thought. "New Jersey, huh?"

"Yeah, New Jersey," I mumble, sniffling. Something moist and salty drips from my eye.

Slowly, his eyes blink open. The moment Cruz's gaze hones in on my impending waterworks, he reaches over to wipe away the unruly tear that's trailing down my cheek.

Cruz's touch is so gentle on my face, and his voice is so soft when he says, "Hey, hey, don't cry. Please don't cry."

Pain stabs my chest.

"But... but... we're breaking up right now!" I whimper brokenly. "Am I supposed to be happy about it?"

I can't even sob and wail to my heart's content because Ron and Aunt Katrina are right next door. I have to suffer quietly even though my emotions feel like they're on the brink of chaos.

"Is that what you think we're doing?"

"Aren't we?" I counter, blubbering through a haze of snot and tears.

Cruz has the nerve to chuckle at me as he retorts, "Do you wanna break up with me?"

"Hell, no! But I can tell that you wanna break up with me."

He lets out a heavy sigh, "Athena..."

I sniffle again, "What?"

"You're shit at reading people."

Offended, I gasp, "What do you mean?"

He shoots me a pointed look. "Do you know what I'm trying to work out in my head?"

My lower lip quivers. "Not really? Please tell me."

"Right now, I'm trying to think of a few schools on the east coast I might wanna attend. I'll probably have to do some more research. Look into the programs they offer and scholarships and tuition costs. Off the top of my head, though, I think Princeton is in New Jersey? I just dunno if I can get in. Their acceptance rate is, like, 5% or something. It's super competitive. Maybe I could try for NYU or Hunter College? They're somewhat easier to get in. Neither of those schools are in New Jersey, but they're probably... close enough."

Holy shit.

My head snaps up in shock.

Is Cruz suggesting what I think he's suggesting?

This makes me want to cry even more but for completely different reasons.

Hope begins to rise in my chest.

Eyeing him warily, I question, just to be sure, "Close enough for—what?"

He leans over to press his forehead against mine, answering with a grin, "Close enough for us to stay together, you idiot, while you take care of your sister. I could go visit you guys on the weekends. Or you and Persie can move closer to me once her adoption is finalized. You and I will probably have to figure out the details as we go. But I wanna try to make this work, Athena. Even after graduation. You're so fucking brave and selfless and beautiful and hot and just... all around amazing. I know I'll never find another girl like you, and I'd be an idiot, too, to let you slip away without a real goddamn fight."