35

ALORA

MAY 16, 2013

It’s almost three o’clock when I wake from my nap. I stretch on the soft covers, feeling a little better, but then the incident at the bakery ignites in my mind.

Instant bad mood.

The room seems to shrink. I grab the bag with my sketchbook and head out to the river. At least I don’t have to worry about running into Trevor.

I’m almost done with a sketch of me and the other Alora when Bridger emerges from the woods. Heat rushes through me as I remember the kiss from last week. I don’t know why, but he’s been distant since it happened, and that hurts so much. I thought he was starting to like me in that way. I guess he changed his mind.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you,” he says when he reaches me. “Grace told me you weren’t feeling well.”

“I’m okay now. I just needed a nap.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

I wait for him to say something else, but he just clasps his hands behind his back and rocks on his heels. I don’t like how awkward he acts around me now. Even though he’s only been here for a month, it feels like we’ve been friends forever. But that amazing and awful kiss changed everything. I shift my gaze from him.

“What are you drawing?” he finally asks.

I snap the book shut and slip it into my bag. “It’s nothing.”

Bridger sits next to me and stares at his hands, which he’s rubbing together. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I ask, startled.

“For last week. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I took advantage of you.” He’s still won’t look at me.

And now I feel even worse. So he thinks he’s to blame for my awful mood. Sure, the kiss unnerved me, but I did like it.

“Don’t apologize,” I say, drawing my legs to my chest. “The kiss was nice.” Just great, that sounded super lame. Who says a kiss is nice? “No, it was more than nice. It was really sweet.”

That didn’t sound much better.

Bridger finally looks my way, offering a tentative smile. “I’m glad. I thought you hated me.”

“I couldn’t hate you for that. Not when I enjoyed it.” Yeah, I wish I could take that last sentence back.

He gives a light laugh and stares at his hands again. “Me too.”

More awkward silence. I want to go back to being comfortable around him, being myself. I need to make things right. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you much at breakfast. I was worried about my appointment. And then I had another blackout.”

His head snaps in my direction. “What? Did you wake up somewhere else again?”

I’m not sure I want to tell anyone about this latest incident. It’s still burning in my mind, a reminder something is very wrong with me.

“No, I stayed in the same place.”

“That’s not so bad,” he says, looking hopeful. “You must not have been out very long.”

“Yeah, but . . .” I start and then stop. I want to kick myself for almost blurting out what happened next. It’s one thing to black out and not remember how you get from one place to another. It’s crazy territory when you think you can see yourself from several weeks in the past. I hope he didn’t notice the slip.

“But what?” he asks, his expression full of concern. I feel my resolve starting to slip. Maybe he won’t think I’m crazy. Maybe he’ll still want to be my friend.

I swallow and take a deep breath. Bridger smiles encouragingly, so I tell him what happened.

But by the time I’m finished, he’s not smiling anymore. He’s still as a stone.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“I . . . it’s just,” he begins, rubbing the back of his neck, “I wasn’t expecting to hear that.”

“Yeah, it freaked me out too.”

“I can imagine. Look, I’ve got to go. There’s something I need to do.”

My stomach sinks as he hurries away. I feel so completely and utterly stupid for telling him the truth, so naive for trusting him. I wish I could take it all back.

As I watch him melt into the forest, anger punctures through the hurt. How could he act all concerned and then just leave? Running away with some lame excuse isn’t going to cut it. I snatch up my backpack and sprint after him, shouting his name. He ignores me at first, but I keep at it, determined to make him stop.

“What’s your problem?” I ask when I catch up to him. “Why did you want to know what’s going on with me and then take off the minute I told you?”

“It’s not like that. I remembered something I have to do.” He can’t look me in the eye again.

“Right, and I’m a fairy princess. I don’t expect you to understand what I’m going through, but don’t treat me like this. Whatever’s wrong with me isn’t contagious.”

His face reddens. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Whatever,” I mutter. “I know you think I’m nuts, but you could’ve at least had the decency to not run off. I mean, do you think I like having this happen to me? I didn’t choose this.”

Bridger’s face is a flurry of emotion. “I know you can’t help it. It’s something you were born with.”

My heart does this weird thud. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He doesn’t say anything for several uncomfortable seconds. “What if you weren’t hallucinating at the bakery?”

I snort. “Okay, and if I wasn’t hallucinating, then what was it?”

“What if I said you traveled back in time?”

My mouth drops open.

He rushes on, “You said before you blacked out that you wished you could go back to before all this started, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, that could’ve been the trigger to send you back in time.” He steps back and raises his eyebrows at me, as if taunting me.

I’m not taking that bait. I jab him in the chest with my finger. “You must think I’m an idiot.”

“No, I don’t,” he says, frowning.

“Yes, you do. I mean, really, time travel? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If you think I’m crazy, then say it to my face. Don’t make up a stupid story.”

“But I’m not . . .”

I brush past him. “Save it,” I hiss over my shoulder. “And don’t worry about having to be around me anymore. I have no interest in continuing this so-called friendship.”