“I was through arguing. My real concern was with Gavin. Lifting my eyes I considered his face—perfectly rounded cheeks, a confident chin, big brown eyes balanced evenly over a gently sloped nose, all framed by a mess of dark curls. My heart sank at his beauty. A boy like him would never have anything to do with a girl like me.

'Why are you here?' I asked. I knew my tone sounded dismal. It was impossible to disguise how I felt.

'Because I want to be,' he answered.

'You want to be here? Really?'

'Well, yes,' he said. His face screwed up, confused. His next words came across as defensive. 'I’m the keykeeper. I can go anywhere I wish to. You can’t stop me, Annabelle.'

'Stop you? I don’t want to stop you,' I said. 'I just thought that... I mean, I didn’t think that…' It was hard to voice my fear aloud.”