“I honestly don’t know,” Gemma said.

She thought back to when she’d gone into town the other day and killed Jason. She’d been gone for several hours, after basically stealing Sawyer’s car. But when she came back, the sirens and Sawyer were all there, looking nonplussed.

Since Gemma hadn’t taken anything with her, they probably wouldn’t think she’d run away, so it would be a little while before they began a search for her. And even when they did, they wouldn’t know where she’d gone. It wouldn’t be too hard for them to figure out she’d gone back to Capri, but it might take them a few days before they went after her. They would probably expect her to come back to them, since she knew what it meant if she left.

Eventually, though, the sirens would find her. They had to. Part of the curse was that they had to be near each other at all times.

If they didn’t find her, Gemma would die within a couple weeks. And if the sirens couldn’t replace her, then Penn, Thea, and Lexi would die, too.

“We probably have a few days,” Gemma said finally. “Maybe a week, tops. But that’s it. They will come after me, and they will take me away with them.” She swallowed hard when she realized it. “If we haven’t found a way to break the curse by then, I have to go with them.”

“We’ll find a way,” Harper insisted, and Gemma wished she shared her sister’s conviction. “But for now, why don’t you just shower and change? Dad’ll be home soon.”

“What should I tell him?” Gemma asked as Harper turned to go. “I can’t tell him that I’m a siren, can I?”

“No,” Harper replied, but she looked uncertain. She furrowed her brow, then shook her head. “No, it won’t do him any good. It’ll just make him worry, and he won’t be able to do anything to help you.”

“So what do I tell him?” Gemma asked.

“Just…” Harper shrugged. “I told him you left with Penn, but I didn’t know why. So … just tell him you ran away because…” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Don’t give him a reason. You’re a teenager and were rebelling. That should be enough, right?”

“It’ll have to be, I guess.”

Harper turned to leave and began shutting the door behind her.

“Hey, Harper,” Gemma said, stopping her.

“Yeah?” Harper leaned in the half-open door to look back at her.

“Thank you for coming to get me and all that,” Gemma said. “No matter how this all turns out, I want you to know that I really appreciate all the stuff you do for me. Including but not limited to rescuing me from monsters.”