The page stairs up at her from the floor where it landed. Autumn can’t bring herself to pick it up. Dustin’s chicken scratch handwriting brings back a flood of memories. They would leave notes to one another any time they left the house. His idea, not hers. It had felt enduring as if he just wanted to know she was thinking of him before going out into the big scary world.

This note doesn’t feel that way. This communication is the big scary world, a threat of intent and a ...