Jordan’s answer caught me completely off-guard. All this time, I’d thought the guy in my dreams was just someone my brain had made up to protect me from the terror of that night.

Dr. Millner had told me as much when I’d first mentioned him.

But Jordan was right. I should have died that night, just like Hailey. There was no explanation for how I’d survived.

And something deep inside had told me he was real all along. Jordan was telling the truth. That was why he looked so much like him.

“What happened to him?” I asked. “And what was he doing here in the first place?”

I had more questions than my brain could even put words to.

“That’s why I’m here,” Jordan said. “I’ve been trying to track him down for months. Earlier this summer, I finally tracked him here, to Twin Rivers, but that’s where the trail ended. I had no idea what he was doing here or why he disappeared, but the minute I read about your accident, I had a strong feeling he was somehow connected to it. Until I met you, though, I couldn’t prove it.”

“That’s why you’ve been following me,” I said.

“I haven’t been following you.”

“Really? Because ever since I got back, I could swear I’ve seen you around everywhere I go,” I said. “Sitting close to me in the cafeteria, watching me with those dark, broody eyes of yours. Watching me when I walk down the hall. Standing a bit too close every time I’m trying to have a private conversation. Or am I wrong?”

“Okay, so maybe I’ve been keeping an eye on you,” he said. “Which tonight turned out to be a good thing.”

I wanted to argue with him, but I couldn’t. He was right. If he hadn’t been here…

I shuddered.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said, stepping closer.

I avoided his eyes and stared down at my injured hand. It had mostly stopped bleeding now, but it was going to leave a nasty scar.

“Let me take a look at that,” he said.

He stepped forward and reached for my hand. I pulled away, not sure I could handle the feel of his warm skin against mine right now.

“Don’t be such a baby,” he said, laughing. “Just let me see how bad it is.”

“I’m not a baby,” I said, pouting.

He took my hand and turned it over in his. “This is pretty deep,” he said. “Hold still and close your eyes.”

I eyed him curiously. What exactly was he planning to do to me?

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said. “I’ll just throw some peroxide on it when I get home and wrap it up. If I go to the hospital, they’ll call my parents, and I’m still hoping I can sneak back in without them ever knowing I was gone.”

“Just trust me,” he said. “Close your eyes.”

Nervous, I gave him my hand and closed my eyes. “Be gentle,” I said.

“Always.”

He placed his palm on top of my bloodied hand and whispered something so low, I couldn’t make it out over the sound of the river beneath us. My hand grew warmer until it almost burned. I pulled back out of a natural reflex, yanking my hand away from him.

“Better?” he asked.

I stared down at my injured hand, my eyes widening as I saw that the wound was mostly closed now, barely a wound at all anymore.

“How did you do that?” I asked, my voice a whisper.

“I’ll show you Monday,” he said, smiling. “Meet you by your car after school?”

“Okay,” I said. “I need to get home now, though. If my parents find out I’m gone, they’ll freak.”

“Is this something you do a lot?” he asked. “Sneak out of the house this late on a school night?”

I challenged him with an icy stare. “I don’t know. You tell me, since you’ve been watching me so closely.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “From what I’ve seen so far, you seem to be more of a rule follower than a sneaking-out kind of girl.”

I bit my lower lip and looked away.

“I’m not sure who I am anymore,” I said. I glanced back at the bridge, shaking my head.

A hard wind blew my hair into my face, but before I could reach to brush it out of the way, Jordan stepped closer and ran a finger down the side of my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear. His hand lingered there at the base of my neck.

He ran a finger along the black rope and touched the silver medallion.

“This was Ethan’s,” he said. “When I first heard about your accident, I thought maybe you were part of the reason he disappeared. But when I saw you that day at the gym, I noticed his necklace, and I knew he was trying to protect you.”

Breathless, I stared up at him. He made no sense to me at all.

I reached up to take it off, but he stopped me.

“No, it’s yours now,” he said. “Ethan wanted you to have it. You should never take it off, Marayah. It’s important.”

I nodded. I didn’t want to take it off, but I was glad to finally know who had given it to me, even if I didn’t yet understand why.

“We’re going to figure this out,” he said. “You and me.”

“I hope so.” Even though I didn’t know this guy, there was comfort in the thought of having someone around that I could talk to. That I could trust.

“There are a lot of things I still need to tell you,” he said. “Things that might be difficult for you to believe or understand. But I think you’ve had enough excitement for one night.”

He smiled down at me, and for the first time since I’d woken up, my body broken and every inch of me screaming in pain, I felt something other than completely and utterly alone.

This had been one of the strangest nights of my life.

“You better get going, right?” he asked.

I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to leave him, which was totally strange. Before tonight, I’d almost been afraid of him.

“Do you need a ride?” I asked. I glanced around and didn’t see his truck, so I wasn’t sure how he’d gotten out here.

“Nah, I’m going to run,” he said. “It’s a nice night out.”

“Run?” I shook my head. “And everyone around here thinks I’m the crazy one.”

He started toward the woods, but kept his eyes on me until I was safely in my car. I turned the car around and headed back toward town, and as I passed him, he lifted a single hand in a wave before he disappeared into the darkness of the forest.