Chapter 5: I Love You

I took the stairwell down from the fourth floor and stood on the landing with my back against cold concrete.

The panel hung at the edge of my sight, and I had never once spoken to it first.

"System," I said, under my breath. "What happens when his affection reaches 100%?"

The panel blinked.

*Host completes the mission. Acquired assets are transferred. Host returns home.*

"Does anything happen to him?"

*Query refused.*

"Is it dangerous for him?"

*Affection is not a harm metric.*

"That isn't an answer."

*Return window: 83 days.*

I tried five more questions, and it gave me five more flat lines, and none of them said no.

I slid down the wall until I sat on the step.

Frankie had said it herself: it burned her every time she interfered.

Nothing that harmless needed that kind of guard.

But I had made it to a hundred once already.

The number had reached 100, and Heath had been alive and well enough to dump me the same week.

So whatever the System took from him, it hadn't taken it then.

It had vanished instead.

I did not know why it had vanished, and not knowing made my stomach turn.

The stairwell door banged open on the floor above.

"Ains?"

Heath came down two steps at a time, with a paper bag from the cafeteria.

"There you are. I looked everywhere." He crouched in front of me. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Thinking."

"About her?"

"About a lot of things."

He sat down next to me on the step, close, with his knee against mine.

"She told me to take you home," he said. "She said I've been an idiot, and you've been way too nice about it."

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