I’m reviewing the latest footage from the crew when there’s a pounding at my door. But when I check the peephole, rather than a delivery, I see the back of a chick’s head. A long black ponytail over the hood of her winter coat, and her arms crossed.

Figuring she’s here for Xander—not the first time someone’s shown up when he doesn’t respond—I smother a groan and open the door to tell her he’s not here. And not interested since he clearly hasn’t talked to her recently.

“Can I help you?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

Except then she turns around, and the entire world folds in on itself.

“Oh my God, it’s really you.”

Sage rushes me, locking her arms around me. It would knock the air out of me if I had any, but it vanished the second I saw her face. I slip back into my body after a second, a quiet sob escaping as I embrace her back.

“How…?”

“Foster,” she chokes out, pulling back and grasping my face, tears falling. “Or Adams? That’s a mind-fuck on its own.”

I scan her over like I do Imane, seeking out every change. She’s the exact same yet wildly different, and I drag her back for another hug. We stand just inside the door for a long time, not talking while we cry.

When I finally pull away, I step around her to shut the door. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

She spins, her eyes shiny. “I’m here, and I’m so sorry, Remi. I was a selfish teen and incredibly naive, and I let you down. I’ve wished so many times I could go back and help you the way I should have.”

I shake my head, confused by her apology. “Did Foster tell you⁠—”

“Nothing,” she says. “He only told me you’d been on tour with him, and if you didn’t want to see me, I had to leave.”

“Don’t leave.” I tug open one of the buttons on her coat to emphasize, and one side of her mouth tips up.

She shucks off her coat, following me into the living room. I sit, she sits, and then she scoots closer.

“You weren’t okay back then,” she says. “Miles tried to tell me shit wasn’t okay for you so many times, but I couldn’t see it. I was oblivious to so much, and after you left, I still twisted it to be about me. I’d decided you two were together, so when Daniel told me you and Roman ran off together, I believed him. I said you guys were hanging out, feeling sorry for myself because I was the one left behind.”