I couldn’t get Jordan out of my head all afternoon. There was definitely something up with him.

Over the past week, I’d convinced myself that he was not the same guy I kept seeing in my dreams or flashbacks or whatever you wanted to call them. Sure, he looked similar, but younger somehow. His hair was shorter, maybe by a few inches. But his eyes...

It couldn’t be the same person, could it? Dr. Millner had told me that with post-traumatic stress, I could sometimes be remembering things that were not real, so I shouldn’t completely trust my visions of what happened that night. At least not until my full memory returned.

If it ever returned.

But how could that explain me seeing a guy I’d never seen before in my life? A guy who suddenly shows up at my high school a year after the accident?

And he had recognized my medallion. I was sure of it.

I had half a mind to just walk right up to him and ask him if he was there that night or if he seemed to know me from somewhere else, but why would he tell me the truth even if I did have the guts to approach him?

And what if this drug dealer rumor was true?

Nicole was right. I really didn’t need that kind of drama in my life right now. Associating with a rumored drug dealer after everything this whole town, including my own parents, already believed about me, would be senior-year suicide.

On top of all that, what if he really was there the night Hailey died?

She’d found a way to tell me that what happened to us wasn’t an accident, which made me wonder if someone else had been involved. Someone dangerous enough to murder Hailey and try to take me along with her.

What if he’d sold Hailey some kind of psychotic drug that had made her see things or get paranoid? Drugs made a lot more sense to me than some kind of demonic possession. Maybe there was a logical explanation for all this after all. And maybe Jordan knew the truth.

I needed to find out more about him somehow. I needed to know if he was a part of this, and I was running out of time.

I spent most of my afternoon classes coming up with a plan. He’d been watching me, so maybe it was time I turned the tables on him.

If I could figure out where he lived, maybe I could watch him, too. Find out more about his family or where he was staying. See what kind of neighborhood he lived in. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of information that would give me, but I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

If I could prove this Jordan guy, or someone close to him, sold Hailey drugs that had messed with her mind, I could help to clear her name and maybe even put her killer in jail.

I just had to make sure he didn’t know what I was up to.

When the bell rang at the end of class, I headed straight for the office. I had about five minutes before the next bell would ring, so I needed to be quick. It was better to try to do this now, rather than at the end of the day when there would be more people walking around.

My hands were sweaty by the time I got there. I’d never done anything even remotely like this before. I’d always been the good girl. Little miss rules. And now I was going to do something that was most likely illegal.

“Marayah, it’s good to see you back at school,” Mrs. Dawson said. Our school secretary was ancient, and she’d been working here since my mom was in school. She loved our family, because my mom had been her favorite student back in the day.

“Hey, Mrs. Dawson,” I said cheerily, wiping my sweaty hands against my jeans. “And thank you. It’s really good to be back.”

“Bless your heart. I know you’ve been through a lot,” she said. “But seeing you now is a sight for sore eyes. I can’t believe this will be your final year here at Twin Rivers High.”

I cleared my throat, unsure exactly how to go about this. I couldn’t very well just ask for his address or school records. There was no way she was just going to hand them over.

“Are you here to see Troy?” she asked.

Confused, I stared at her. “Troy?”

She smiled. “I know you two have a crush on each other,” she said. “I may be old, but I can tell when two students are in love.”

“Oh,” I said. Obviously, she was behind on the times. But apparently, so was I. “Why would Troy be here?”

She waved her hand around. “That whole mess this summer,” she said. “I’m sure you know all about it. Anyway, Mr. Dixon thought it would be too harsh of a punishment to kick our best player off the football team for a silly fight over the summer, so Troy comes in for a few hours a week to work here in the office for us. A little bit of volunteer work never hurt anyone.”

I thought about telling her that it wasn’t really volunteer work if you were being forced to do it, but I let that slide. Another plan was forming in my mind.

“He’ll be here this afternoon?” I asked.

She glanced at the clock over the door. “He should be here after school for an hour before he heads out to practice.”

“Okay, thank you Mrs. Dawson,” I said. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too, dear.”

I stepped out of the office and took out my phone. Troy’s latest message was still at the top of my texts.

I need a favor. Meet me at our old place after the bell?

I took a deep breath and hit send.

* * *

Troy was already waiting by the oak tree in the large courtyard when I stepped out into the afternoon sun. He straightened when he saw me and glanced around, probably watching to make sure Lena wasn’t stalking him.

Heaven forbid the new girlfriend saw him talking to the old one.

“Hey,” he said. He looked nervous. “I’m sorry. I can’t talk long. I’ve got a, uh, thing I need to do this afternoon.”

“I know,” I said. “I heard. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

His face tensed. “Oh,” he said. Was that disappointment in his voice? What did he think I wanted to talk to him about? “What’s up?”

I cleared my throat. I wasn’t exactly sure how best to ask for what I wanted or how to explain why I wanted it, but there was no graceful way to do this. Besides, regardless of what I’d said before, this guy owed me.

“Do you know the new guy? Jordan something?”

“Greycloud,” he said.

Jordan Greycloud. The name wasn’t familiar. I was pretty sure there were no other Greyclouds here in this town. None that I’d ever met or heard about, and it was a pretty small town with a very small Native population, most of whom were good friends with my father.

“Why?”

“Well, I want you to get his school records for me,” I said.

Troy’s eyes widened, and he stepped closer to me. “Are you freaking kidding me? I could get expelled for something like that.”

“You won’t get expelled,” I said. “You’re a star around here. If you get caught, just tell them you must have hit the wrong button on the computer. Act stupid about it. Me jock. No understand computer.”

“Ouch,” he said, but there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

“You know what I mean,” I said, smiling back. “But don’t get caught.”

“Wait, why do you want his records?” he asked.

“I just need them,” I said. “And I need it to be a secret. You can’t tell anyone. Not even Lena.”

He swallowed and looked around again.

“I won’t tell anyone,” he said. “I just wish you’d tell me why you want his records. Do you even know this guy?”

“Not yet,” I said, intentionally leaving it vague. Let him think I had a crush on the new guy. What did I care?

“Oh.” He cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes. “I see.”

“Think you can do it?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll try,” he said. “You know how this town is. They don’t even attempt to hide all the passwords. They’re taped right there to the computer.”

I laughed and his gaze dropped to my lips, making me extremely uncomfortable. He used to kiss these lips, and it hadn’t been my choice for him to stop. If he wanted me back, that was his damn problem.

“If you can, come to the house afterward,” I said. “I’m sure my parents would love to see you, anyway.”

He grimaced. “I’m supposed to go to Lena’s this afternoon,” he said. “If I’m late—”

I laughed, cutting him off. “Wow, I had no idea she had you on such a short leash these days,” I said. “That’s gotta be fun for you.”

He rolled his eyes and smiled. For just a second, my insides flipped.

God, I used to love that smile.

“It’s not my favorite thing about her, if you must know,” he said.

Then why did you choose her over me?

I definitely did not give voice to that thought. I wanted him to think I couldn’t care less.

“Well, you should probably get going,” I said. “You don’t want to be late.”

“No, I guess not,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“If you can, at least text me and let me know if you got it,” I said.

He shifted uncomfortably, and I remembered the little argument he supposedly had with Lena last night about texting me.

“Right,” I said. “You can’t text me anymore, I’m guessing.”

He just shrugged. Unbelievable.

“Just slip it in my locker tomorrow or find me in the hallways,” I said.

I started to walk away, but he touched my arm. I stopped cold. It was the first time he’d touched me since the accident.

Tears sprang to my eyes, and I blinked them back. Betrayers.

I pulled away as if he’d burned me.

“Sorry,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll text you this afternoon if I get a chance.”

I nodded, hating this tension between us. This moment right here was proof that my old life was truly gone and would never be the same again. I never realized just how easy things had been before the accident. How happy.

How fragile.

“Thanks,” I said, longing for the past in a way that made my heart sick.

I turned and walked away before he could see the first tear fall down my cheek.