I’m disappointed, Cal.

Three little words. Cal’s thumb hovered over the phone, but he didn’t know how to respond. He hadn’t planted the pipe, and now he was left to hope that Roger had been bluffing about the potential fallout of his failure.

I just need more time, Cal finally replied.

That was a lie. He wasn’t going to do it. Somehow, he would have to fix this. He would just have to go to Roger’s office and call the whole thing off, promise to do better, be better, with no bribes or threats on the table.

Whatever was going on between Fallon and Roger, that was between them. And really, all luck to Fallon. Maybe she’d find something in Roger’s emails to put him in his place.

Cal set his phone down on the mattress. Slashes of early morning sun peeked through their curtains, and he splayed his hand in one of the patches of light on the blanket, feeling the warmth on his skin—the opposite sensation of the little ghost boy’s hand.

He shuddered. That dream had come again. This time the boy had been with him in Brookline, leading him down to the door that could only be opened with the professor’s keys.

“Go through,” the boy had said, pointing. “Go through, ghost who walks, go through.”

That was all Cal could remember of it. He drifted in and out of his morning routine in a haze, forgetting to brush his teeth before stumbling out the door with Micah still dozing in his bed. Cal texted Lara to see if she was doing okay and received an immediate—if negative—response.

He had his friends back, but not the way he wanted them.

His class load was lighter that day, which was good, considering he would hardly be able to keep himself awake even with an energy drink. After his last class, he had his final tutoring session with Fallon before his English paper was due.

He jogged past the frats and sororities to Fallon’s dorm. The dark clouds that had been gathering all day looked ready to burst, and he didn’t want to add soaking wet to exhausted, confused, and stressed.

He checked his phone as he took the last few stairs to her floor, surprised to find Roger hadn’t dashed off an angry response to his text. It wasn’t like Roger to take failure this quietly.

Frowning, Cal glanced up from his cell to find he wasn’t alone in visiting Fallon. A petite girl with neon-blue hair was waiting outside the door. One side of her head was shaved, and the rest was gathered up in a haphazard ponytail at her nape. The oversize tank top she wore hung off her bony frame, showing a lacy pink bra underneath.

She turned and looked Cal up and down.

“What’s your story, pretty boy? You looking for Fal, too?”

“She’s my tutor,” he said, curling his lip. “Who’s asking?”

“Holliday.” She stuck out her hand. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent. Every knuckle sported a ring of some kind. One of them even looked hinged, like she could hide something inside it.

“Cal,” he said. They shook hands, and her fingers were like ice. “Is Fallon not in?”

“Not in. Not answering emails. Not answering her phone.” Holliday shrank a little, pressing her palm to Fallon’s door. “Fal doesn’t do that. She doesn’t go dark, not without telling me first.”

Oh shit.

“Maybe she’s just hung up in class,” Cal suggested. “Reception blows on the academic side.”

“It blows here, too, but her phone’s boosted. Look, I don’t know why I’m telling you this, pretty boy. Just holler if you see her, okay?” Holliday jerked him closer by the arm. She was surprisingly strong. She yanked up his sleeve and produced a black permanent marker, scribbling her number on his forearm.

“Hey,” he pulled his arm back. “You could ask first.”

“Yeah, whatever. If you see anything, you text me.” Holliday shoved away from him, glancing at Fallon’s door one last time before slinking down the hall.

If I see anything. What if I already know something?

Cal almost messaged Roger to let him know his tutoring session had to be canceled, hoping against hope that Roger would respond with surprise. But he had a strong suspicion that Roger already knew. That he had found some other way to remove his so-called problem.

No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.