They came to an unruly row of bramble bushes blocking their way. 'You know, Ava, I … I'm sorry.' Jack took a deep breath. 'None of this is your fault. Not me … not Mark.'
Ava said nothing for a whole minute.
'How'd it happen with him?' he prompted gently.
'Last year my tutors made me go to summer school,' she said. 'To help me get extra credits in Literature and a shot at a college scholarship. Mother wasn't happy, but Dad overruled her. For once. Anyway, there were kids there from all over the country.'
'And Mark was one of them?'
'Yeah.' She was quiet for a while. 'I make it a rule not to get close. Never to get close, not to anyone. But stuff just … kinda happened.'
Jack nodded. 'Holiday romance, huh?'
'Hopeless, doomed romance more like.' She snorted softly. 'Afterwards, when we'd both returned home, we'd talk for hours in chat rooms online. We had so many crazy plans. We figured, maybe someday when I was out of here … '
'Did you tell him about the wolf stuff?'
