I have arrived.

But you are gone.

And I am alone.

I drop to my knees on the side of the road. How long have I been running?

Francine and I have passed this point many times when she takes the long way home from school. Sometimes she points it out and asks how I feel. I close my eyes and push her words away from my ears.

But now, here I am.

For the first time since the accident, I look around.

There are no tire marks in the street. There is no sign of the twisted metal or the burning truck. No snow. No ice.

There is only a mound of frozen dirt on the side of the road and a white wooden cross. The cross Joanie showed me after we had pancakes at the diner.

And now I understand.

Here is where you are, Bridget.

Here is where you ended.

The point of impact.

The ocean.

Our Sea of Tranquility.

I lie down beside the cross. I rest my head on NASA Bear.

You were not there, Bridget. You broke your promise.

We were supposed to watch the Challenger launch together.

We were supposed to watch them send up the First Teacher in Space.

You were supposed to be there when I watched the Challenger lift-off.

You were supposed to be there when I watched the Challenger explode.

But you were not there. Because you are here.

I do not know why I did not understand it before. Mrs. Steele told me what happened to you. Francine and Billy told me. Joanie told me.

But you promised to come back and you always keep your promises, so I guess I thought that death is not forever. That your promise must be stronger than dying. Because you have always been stronger than me, even though I was the sole survivor.

I did not understand it, Bridget, until I saw the Challenger explode, but now I do. Now I know sometimes what we want doesn’t matter.

Sometimes people can’t keep their promises.

Sometimes even astronauts can’t reach the stars.

I did not understand it before, Bridget, but I understand it now.

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you…?

Planet Earth is blue—

And there’s nothing I can do.

—

I can feel your arms around me, Bridget.

I can hear your heartbeat in my ear.

I know that I am not alone.

It’s still you and me and NASA Bear, our space shuttle, and the moon.

You didn’t come find me.

So I’ve found you.

Chapter Thirteen

Francine pulled over on the side of the road. She ran from the car, followed by Miss Chambers.

“Nova?” Francine reached Nova first, curled up on her side next to the wooden cross, hands over her ears, eyes closed. Francine dropped to her knees and cradled Nova’s head against her chest.

Nova could feel a heartbeat thumping in her ear.

Bridget?

No.