Aunt Maureen came up behind me, turned me around, and gave me a long hug. She took a step back.

“You know I love you, right?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Your mom does, too. And she knows you two need to talk,” she said. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”

We bought the dress and sugary coffee drinks next door and took selfies under a massive arch of antlers at the entrance to a park.

“This is so random,” I said, looking at the pictures. “Colette would love it.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you bring her up all summer,” Aunt Maureen said, surprising me. I felt like I talked about Colette all the time—but maybe that was only in my head. “It’s nice.”

“It’s nice to me, too,” I said, and while we walked back to the minivan, I told her the story about the time I hid a cardboard cutout of Darth Vader outside of the bathroom door while Colette was in the shower. Both of us laughed, remembering my best friend.

No one was home when we got to the cabin. There was enough time for me to shower before the art show, but barely. I hurried to the bathroom with my brand-new dress, excited to wear it.

Excited to show Izzy.

I washed my hair and body under the showerhead that made the water feel like pinpricks, not using too much shampoo or soap, or it’d never rinse out. I turned the water hotter and inhaled the minty steam, feeling refreshed, wondering what Izzy would be wearing and how he’d act and if he’d like my portrait. I hadn’t shown him yet.

Finished, I turned off the water and wrung out my hair, then reached out for the towel and dried off in the warm stall. With the towel on my head, I threw back the curtain and stepped onto the braided rug there to save my feet from the unheated tile.

Looking up, my heart leaped at the message on the fogged-over medicine cabinet mirror, and this time, it was clearly meant for me.

IT’S NOT OVER, TESS

I yanked the towel from my head and threw it around my body, then ran out of the bathroom screaming, tears streaming down my face. Uncle Bran and Kane were just getting home; Kane had been at a day camp while Uncle Bran worked. Aunt Maureen was washing her hands at the sink. All three of them looked at me with surprise.

“What’s the matter?” Aunt Maureen said, hurrying over, her hands dripping, putting an arm around my shoulders.

“There’s a message in the mirror,” I sobbed. “It’s terrifying!”

Kane stuck his finger in his mouth and said, “Mommy.” She went over and picked him up.

Uncle Bran went to bathroom to check it out. He was back quickly. “Who wrote that?”

“I don’t know!” I cried.