After Sawyer watched Evie go inside the Mermaid, he knew what he had to do.

He walked over to Lakeside Hardware, hoping that most, if not all, of the old folks would be there.

He was in luck. Four sets of eyes swung toward him when the bell on the door jingled to announce his arrival.

“Hi, Sawyer. I was going to—”

Whatever Pearl had been planning to say, she thought better of it. Her eyes widened. Did he look as unhinged as he felt?

“Sawyer, son,” Karl said. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to throw the mer-king and mer-queen competition.”

He grinned. “You came to the right place.”

Eve went right upstairs to the Pink Room of Pain. Unlocked the door, stepped inside, and looked around. Really looked. Did a slow circle, taking in the walls studded with mementoes of who she used to be. The one Little Mermaid poster she’d left up. The Eiffel Tower prints. The painting Jake’s mom had given her.

She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. The inn was taller than the houses on the block behind it, so she saw a big swath of blue sky.

What had she been so afraid of? It was just a room. It didn’t have any power over her that she wasn’t giving it.

Just like Jeannie Wilkerson was just a person.

Just like Sawyer was just a person. A person who had made a mistake, maybe?

But more importantly, she was a person who had made a mistake. Many mistakes.

A List of Mistakes Eve Abbott Had Made

Nope. No list.

How about, instead of making a list, she just tried to ask for what she wanted? Using the voice she’d gradually discovered this past year?

She pulled out the stool at the dressing table, sat, and opened the drawer, suddenly wanting a glimpse of who she used to be. She’d kept all kinds of junk in here—nail polish and hairbrushes, but also photos, fortunes from fortune cookies, and Hogwarts letters she’d written and mailed to herself. The detritus of a girlhood.

It was all still there. But lying on top of it was a big manila envelope.

It had her name on it, in the spidery scrawl she recognized as Lucille’s.

With shaking hands, she opened the envelope. It contained a letter and a copy of the will.

Dear Eve,

Just kidding! Here’s the real will.

I’m sorry I played such a mean trick on you. I know you probably went into a panic after you met with Jason (who, by the way, was innocent in this scheme). Hear me out, though.