ELLE’S POV
She rested against the back of the tub while kicking her feet, “Okay, but I’m still going to include him in my drawing.”
I smiled and shook my head. “You’re too much sometimes.”
However, the thought of Amelia incorporating Ethan—and by extension, this neighborhood—into her imaginary world gathered in her mind.
Because with every connection she forged here, the deeper the attachments she made would complicate escaping if everything came crashing down.
And if Victoria or Jordan got too close, crashing down was the only outcome.
Even so, I stood by the tub, and I could hear the laughter ringing out over the tiles, and I told myself over and over the one notion that had weight:
“Do everything in your power to protect her.”
Amelia’s laughter, the previous childish
