Free Project Renovatio by Allison Maruska Page B

family than Rana had seen before.
    Rana worked many hours of overtime at the grocery store and figured she’d have enough money to buy a respectable car a few weeks before school started. She even received a promotion, which didn’t include much in the way of changing responsibilities, but she did get a raise. Her job would have been perfect except for one detail: Jason knew he could find her there. She still felt angry and embarrassed about what happened at the party, and she wasn’t interested in discussing it with him. On a late night shift, though, as she unloaded a box of canned tomatoes, she looked up and momentarily connected with a pair of familiar eyes.
    Jason approached her. “Hi, Rana. I hoped you’d be working tonight.”
    Her mind filled with an emotion she couldn’t name, but it felt like a cross between frustration and relief. “Oh, okay. Yep, here I am.” She put two cans on the shelf. “Can I help you find something? We close in twenty minutes.”
    He laughed. Apparently, he took her question as a joke. “No. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I haven’t been able to find you since the party.”
    “I’ve worked in the back a lot the past couple weeks.” By design , she thought.
    “Anyway, I want to tell you I’m really sorry.”
    “What for?” She avoided eye contact and continued loading the shelf.
    He put his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor. “Well, for how I acted. My parents thought I invited a few friends. It kinda got out of hand–friends inviting more friends, that kind of thing. Some kids I barely know brought the drinks. If it makes you feel any better, I got into huge trouble.”
    She laughed. “Yeah, that helps a little.” She intentionally met his eyes for the first time, weighing her next question. “What did you tell them about the wall?”
    He shifted his feet and brought his hand to the back of his neck. “I told them I wrestled with one of my friends and I fell into it. They made me fix it.”
    Rana smiled. “Good.”
    “You’re really strong.” He rubbed his shoulder. “Have you ever considered boxing?” He grinned.
    “Um, no. Thanks for the suggestion, though.” She gestured with the cans she held.  “I need to finish stocking these shelves.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, okay. Anyway, I just wanted you to know I feel terrible. It’s bothered me since it happened, and I wish I could take it back. I hope we can still hang out, if you want.”
    She pursed her lips. “I dunno. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
    He nodded, looked away, and left the way he entered without buying anything. He’d visited only to talk to her. Maybe he meant what he said.
    ****
    Levin remained highly guarded after his mother sent the letters to Project Renovatio, even after weeks passed and nothing came from them. He glanced over his shoulder more often at work, and he called Maggie so frequently to check on her that she told him to stop so she wouldn’t get in trouble at her job. When he wasn’t completely paranoid about the Project, however, he enjoyed settling into a normal existence.
    He and Maggie continued dating as though the meeting with Scott hadn’t taken place. The weekend after he brought her to his mother’s house, she invited him to meet her parents and brother, and they all seemed to approve of him as a partner for Maggie.
    Tonight, as they watched a movie together, he held her in his arms, breathed in the clean scent of her hair, and imagined having the freedom to hold her close whenever he wanted. Since the day she said she’d stay with him in the face of a threat, he’d dreamed of spending every evening with her, waking next to her every morning, and of building a life with her.
    She squeezed his arms closer to her body, and in that moment, he couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else. As he leaned over to kiss her, his phone rang from the kitchen.
    ****
    Rana peered through the passenger window and the darkness surrounding her mother’s