“I just remember Cole showing up. I think I was getting upset or something?” She frowned. “I’d had way too much to drink. And he was really kind. Um… and then he left?”
She said that last part like a question.
“You remember him leaving?”
“I barely remember any of it.”
“Sam.”
“Why are you getting so worked up? Cole’s a really nice guy. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell him any embarrassing stories about your childhood or whatever. Probably.”
That wasn’t what I was afraid of. But then—whatwasI afraid of?
Everything I was thinking didn’t make rational sense, did it? It was impossible.
Just like Nicolas’s lack of heartbeat. The way he sometimes forgot to breathe. His blurry-fast movements. The strange way his eyes caught the light. The cryptic things he said.
And now… Sam was different.
Happier. But like a whole other person. A version of her I hadn’t seen in years.
And the only person she remembered talking to… was Nicolas.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
I felt numb when it hit me fully. Even though it was ridiculous. Even though I didn’t want to believe it.
Even though it shouldn’t have been possible.
It had to be true.
Nicolas was behind this.
* * *
Sam had already left to go to another AA meeting about two hours before I had to go to work when my phone rang. It was an unknown number.
I stared at the screen and silenced it. I’d been doing that a lot lately. Tonight was not the night to listen to Eric beg me to come back. I had already deleted two text messages that morning. I didn’t even bother to open them.
In truth, I was jumpier than I should have been, being home alone. In addition to the phone calls, he had left a note on my door two nights ago, written in blocky black Sharpie:If I can’t have you, no one can.
Eric had clearly been watching me. He was escalating—between the texts, the calls, and now the note… maybe it was time to tell someone. Or maybe get a restraining order?
Though I knew Eric wasn’t harmless, he had made dozens of empty threats about what he’d do if I ever left him. This was no different. He wasn’t going to follow through—it was just another manipulation tactic. It didn’t really matter.
No, what mattered was the fact that Nicolas had somehow fixed Sam.
It didn’t make any sense, but it was true.
I hadn’t let him tell me what he was. I had ignored everything—all of the strangeness—and now it was impacting the people I cared about. Which meant I didn’t have a choice. I had to confront him and demand an explanation.
Tonight, I decided. When Nicolas picked me up from work, I would ask him for the truth—and I wouldn’t let it go until he gave it to me.
And then what?
I tried not to think about that. I could deal with a lot of things, but I couldn’t tolerate him messing with my sister’s mind. Or mine, for that matter. Had he done the same thing to me? Was that why I had overlooked all the red flags?
Was that why I cared about him in the first place? Was that why I had fallen—
