diff --git a/src/cparse.c b/src/cparse.c
index 8b8ec18..84e4d8b 100644
--- a/src/cparse.c
+++ b/src/cparse.c
@@ -481,6 +481,7 @@ static void string(CParseState *pstate, bool canAssign, Precedence prec)
 {
     CObjString *strObj =
         cosmoO_takeString(pstate->state, pstate->previous.start, pstate->previous.length);
+    keepTrackOf(pstate, cosmoV_newRef((CObj *)strObj));
     writeConstant(pstate, cosmoV_newRef((CObj *)strObj));
 }