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Billie pauses for a few moments. "My brothers are upstairs and the dogs are here. Mischief and Tank. Pit bulls. Nice dogs, but they don't like strangers."

Peter Taylor was a senior when you were a freshman, and Matthew Taylor was a year behind his brother. Both played first-string on the football team, though they stayed on to work their family's farm instead of accepting scholarships to college.

"Mom and dad aren't here, but they should be home early tomorrow. What about you?"

"I'm home alone."

"I'm right down the road. If you need anything, just ask. Once the curfew or quarantine or whatever the government calls it is over, I'm heading out, and I'm making your house my first stop."

You listen to a few more minutes of Billie ranting about the outbreak and finally turn to a new topic…