“There we are, Carolina!” Yukiko points to the screen.
Carolina squeals at the two of them in softball uniforms. And big hair. “Shit, we were so young!”
I turn to her. “You played softball?”
“She made the All American team,” Yukiko beams. “Our kick-ass pitcher. Won a scholarship too.”
“How did I not know this?”
Carolina shrugs. “Florida State. Go ‘Noles.”
“We’ll just have to keep that little nugget away from Tatiana,” I whisper in her ear.
She turns. Her mouth is inches away from mine. “Somehow, I think T - the die-hard Florida Gator - likely already knows.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. I’m so close to kissing her again.
“And now, a moment of silence for those who are no longer with us,” the announcer’s voice is somber, as the music switches to something akin to a funeral dirge.
I tear my gaze away from Carolina and stare at the screen.
“Gone but not forgotten” flashes on the video, then the smiling face of a Hispanic teenager appears with the name “Nathan ‘Nate’ Almond.”
“That’s so sad,” Yukiko shakes her head. “I remember how much you liked him, Carolina.”
“Yeah,” Carolina seems far away as another classmate’s picture appears on the screen.
Then, there’s a good-looking guy with black hair and brown eyes. Zack Cicero.
“That’s weird,” Carolina frowns.
“What’s weird?” I ask.
“I didn’t realize Zack died,” Carolina frowns harder.
A few more pictures, then Elijah Hahn shows up. Carolina gasps. A few more names, then Parker Takoda.
I feel Carolina stiffen next to me. Her hand is clamped over her mouth. Tears threaten to spill over her cheeks. I’m immediately on high alert.
“What’s going on?” I whisper.
She shakes her head but can’t speak.
“That’s it,” I grab the first scavenger hunt clue in front of us. “Yukiko, Lily, good to see you. Carolina’s not feeling well. We’re going back to the room.”
The expression on their faces tells me they know what’s wrong with my Imaginary Fiancée. The I.F. that I drag through the ballroom to the private elevator.
When the doors close, I lean down and grab her face in my hands. “Carolina, puffin. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
Tears spill onto her cheeks as she finally makes eye contact with me. “Nate, Zach, Elijah, Parker… those are all ex-boyfriends. And they’re all dead.”
I nod. “Okay, but y’all are over 40, so that’s bound to happen, right?”
“You don’t understand,” she scrubs the tears off her face. “I knew about Nate. That was a strange accident. But the other three I dated after high school. And I thought they ghosted me.”
My hackles go up. “What do you mean ghosted?”
“Just like every other guy I’ve dated. We go out for a few months. It gets serious. Then, right before we go all the way, they disappear,” Carolina blinks. “But, now I’m starting to wonder if maybe they didn’t ghost me at all.”