I know something's wrong by the way my brother is staring at me.

"What do you want?" My bedroom door is cracked open just enough so I can see his nose and lips.

"Family meeting. Mom and I need to talk with you."

"Now?" Griffin and I have been texting for the past hour, ever since I got home from work.

My brother rolls his eyes. "Should we make an appointment? How about Tuesday at nine-thirty? Yes, now, you ditz."

"You're a tool." I slam the door in his face.

, I text Griffin.

Whoa. About what? Me?

Leaving my phone on the nightstand—my mother has a rule that no electronic devices are allowed at family meetings—I shuffle into the kitchen, a pit of dread in my stomach. I know they're going to try to talk me out of seeing Griffin. I can feel it.

The two of them are sitting at the kitchen table, under the harsh fluorescent light. Our kitchen doesn't have windows and the light casts a sickening jaundiced hue on everyone's skin.

I shove myself into my place at the table, next to the wall, with the empty chair on my right. Mom and Ash are in their spots, and from the grim lines of their mouths, I can tell I'm in deep trouble. More trouble than I've ever been in. Which isn't hard, I guess, because I've always been the good girl.

Mom looks worse than usual, the bags under her eyes puffier, the two lines between her eyebrows deeper.

I take a deep breath and sigh. This is going to be bad. Maybe the worst fight I've ever had with my family. I jam my hands into the pockets of my hoodie and slouch down in my chair. I can't be mad with my mother—yet—because she hasn't said anything But I am angry with Ash at how he treated Griffin, and I shoot him a sour look. He curls his lip in response, then coughs into his fist. He'd better not get me sick with the flu or something gross.

"Honey," my mom says. She pauses, and her eyes get watery.

Oh boy. Here it comes. I swallow a lump in my throat, ready to cry and fight.

"We're moving." A fat tear rolls down my mom's cheek. "I know this is where you grew up, and I'm torn about leaving because we have so many memories here. But I think this is the best for all of us."

I sit up and press my midsection into the edge of the table. Maybe this is a good thing, getting out of this crappy suburb. Maybe she's found a place closer to downtown, near my college. The office where she works is near there. A surge of excitement runs through me and I allow myself a little smile. "What? Where are we going? Downtown? Closer to your job? Why didn't you tell me before now?"

Ash sneers at me. "Mom got some good news while you were away on your romantic weekend."

Mom snd shakes her head. "Ash. Please. The firm wants to transfer me to Jacksonville and help with rental assistance for a few months. This is a way to get ahead. Like we've always wanted. Jacksonville is so much cheaper than here."

My stomach hardens. "What? How? Transfer? You're a secretary in a law firm. Jacksonville?"

"The firm has offices all over Florida. They need an office manager there and they'd finally like to promote me." My mother's voice has a twinge of pride in it, the first I've heard in years.

"That's...great for you. But where am I going to live?"

Ash holds his palms up. "Uh, with us in Jacksonville?"

My head feels light. Jacksonville is five hours from Miami. "What? No. I'm going to college here in the fall. I've never even been to Jacksonville."

"You can attend community college up there," she says in a soothing voice. "Julie, this is a fresh start. For all of us."

I gape at her, then at Ash. "You're all for this, aren't you?"

"Fuck yeah. It's closer to Georgia where I'll be campaigning for a senate candidate."

My mom scowls. "Ashton. Your language."

"No way, and fuck your senate candidate," I retort.

"Juliette!" Mom hollers.

"I'm not going to Jacksonville. No. I'm going to school at Miami-Dade College in the fall." I fold my arms tight across my chest.

"Honey, I know this is a surprise. But I've already taken the job. The movers will be here on Wednesday."

My jaw drops and I can't think of anything to say. They're giving me seventy-two hours to leave behind everything I've ever known? Without asking my opinion?

Ashton, of course, fills the void with a smarmy comeback. "And you'll be able to put five hours between you and the drug dealer."

"Ashton, stop it. You don't know that for a fact." Mom's voice is sharp.

"Shut up," I yell at him. "I'm not leaving Miami and I'm not leaving Griffin. Period."

I start to get up.

"About him," my mom says, and I sink back into the chair. "I think a little space would allow you to gain perspective on the situation."

She reaches for my arms. Glaring, I slide my chair back, away from her.

"I can see why you would like Griffin. He's handsome, he's charming, he's polite. He and Zoe came from such a good family, until..." Mom's voice fades.

Ashton snorts.

"But Juliette, he's possibly involved in some awful things."

I shake my head. "And how do you know?"

"Ashton's filled me in."

I roll my eyes. "Oh, Ashton, helper of the whales. King of the sit-ins at city hall. Ashton, who's never worked a day in his life. You're going to listen to him?"

"Even if Griffin wasn't involved with anything illegal, I'd still say he's too old for you. He's seven years older. That's a lot at your age. You're stepping into a whole different world."

I'm staring at the table so hard that I almost think my gaze can penetrate wood. I stand up.

"I don't care. I'm not going to Jacksonville. I'll live with Allison. Or something."

I stomp out of the kitchen and slam my bedroom door. I'm trying to catch my breath and not cry when I pick up my phone and tap to Allison's number. I'm so angry my insides are vibrating.

Holy shit!

As I hit send, my heart pounds. What am I doing? How will I be able to stay here alone? I'll have to get a full-time job. Allison's place is only temporary. I'll have to get an apartment. A roommate, probably. Can I take out student loans to pay for all of this?

It's like I'm becoming an adult in the span of five minutes. My hand goes to the back of my neck and I screw up my face as I wipe perspiration off my skin.

Of course you can stay – the sofa's got your name on it! At least until I go to Orlando in August! Or maybe you can be my mom's roomie

That's when the tears fall, because I realize that soon, I'm not going to have much left here in Miami. Except Griffin.

Maybe I should go north with my family. Even though I told Allison that I want to stay because of school, deep down I know it's because of Griffin. And that's ridiculous, given his situation. As much as I hate to admit it, Ashton and my mom are right: moving would give me a fresh start. I have no business dating a man who sells drugs.

I tap to the photos on my phone and stare at the only one I took over the weekend. It was on that first morning, when we were up early. I'd persuaded Griffin into taking a selfie, the soft light of sunrise making his skin glow in a beautiful golden way, complimenting his eyes and his smile and, well, everything.

And I look happy. More than happy. Radiant.

Do I want to leave all that behind?

* * *

All it takes is a couple of hours reading about Jacksonville (it's crazy boring), a tearful phone call with Allison (her mom will let me stay for as long as I need) and one article titled "How To Use College Loans For Living Expenses," (Answer: apply for them) and I'm convinced that I should stay in Miami.

I don't tell Griffin about Ash and Mom's move north, though. Mostly because I don't want him to worry about me or think I'm trying to get money out of him. The time to tell him will come up naturally at some point.

Monday and Tuesday are spent applying for jobs and talking my manager at the diner into giving me more shifts. As upset as my mother is, she calls Allison's mom and begrudgingly accepts that I'll be staying there, at least for a little while.

"You'll probably end up in Jacksonville with us, of course. The door's always open," she keeps saying.

The good part is, she's giving me the clunker of a car. Apparently she has a company car up there. So I guess it's all working out. By Wednesday, I'm too upset to watch my childhood home be dismantled and stuffed into boxes, so I pack two huge suitcases and haul them to my car myself. My mom and Ash are leaving the next morning, ahead of the movers hired by her law firm.

"I guess this is it," I say to my mom and Ash.

My mother goes pale. "It doesn't have to be like this, honey. There's still time for you to come with us."

"Let her go," Ash says from the sofa. "She's gotta learn the hard way."

I hug my mother tight, willing myself not to cry. "I'm proud of you," I whisper. "You sacrificed everything for us. Thank you."

When I walk out, I pause at the door to look around. Ash won't meet my gaze, and my mom comes over and kisses me again on the cheek.

"I love you," I whisper to her, and leave.

Hours later, as I'm sitting in the half-dark on Allison's sofa — she's out with her boyfriend — my phone pings. Griffin wants to video chat.

Crap. I want so badly to see his face, but I don't want him to see mine. Not after I've been crying off and on for hours. But I have no good reason to decline his call. We haven't talked much in the past couple of days — he'd said he was pretty busy with his business. Those words were enough to make me steer clear and not pester him.

"Hey!" I smile wide, hoping it will hide my blotchy cheeks.

He grins and my heart thumps wildly. "Hey beautiful." His eyebrows knit together. "Where are you? You're not at your house."

"I'm at Allison's."

"Oh. How come? You two doing something fun?"

I shake my head and hold the phone further from my face. "She's out so I'm alone here."

He beckons with his index finger. "Come closer."

"What?" I sniffle.

"You look like you've been crying. What's going on?"

How is he so perceptive? "I'm fine."

He narrows his eyes so virtually none of the beautiful honey color is visible. "You sure? I know you said your mom and Ash didn't give you a hard time about me on Sunday. But are they now?"

I blink back tears. "No. But I've moved out of the house."

"You've what? Because of me?"

Oh God, he looks frightened. "No," I yelp, then explain everything to him and watch his eyes get wider.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I shrug.

"I can easily help you. I want to help you."

"That's why I didn't want to say anything until I was settled. I didn't want your help." I swallow, realizing how mean that sounds. "I didn't want you thinking I was using you."

He licks his lips and a wave of warmth goes through my body. I wish he were here, holding me.

"Angel, I don't even know where to begin with that statement."

"You don't have to say anything. I'm handling everything on my own."

"You just graduated from high school three weeks ago. How are you handling everything on your own?"

My nostrils twitch. "You don't think I'm capable?"

He sighs. "I'm sorry. That came out the wrong way. I do think you're capable. But I'm worried. What do you need?"

"Nothing, right now. I can stay at Allison's for as long as I need to. Even after she goes to school in Orlando. Her mom will only ask me to pay utilities. And I'm picking up more shifts at the diner. Today I also applied for a job at the bookstore. That would at least be fun, I think."

He shakes his head, a little smile on his lips. We stare at each other for a few long seconds. I want to reach into the phone and run my fingers over the dark stubble on his jaw.

"Can I still see you Friday night? I wish we could hang out before then but I have a few business things I need to deal with this week. A situation has come up..."

"No worries," I blurt, holding up my hand. "I don't need to know more."

He chuckles softly. "I miss you. I can't stop thinking about last weekend."

"I miss you too. And yes on Friday." I grin. It's the first genuine feeling of joy in days. But there are still those nagging questions lurking like ghosts in the shadows of my mind.

What if Mom and Ash are right? What if I can't handle being on my own—or what if being with Griffin is all wrong?

____