I catch him during a break and tell him what Glory said about the lavender. How she was leaving it for remembrance. Almost like lighting a candle for the dead. “She thought she was helping me.”

He nods. But I can see how distracted he is. How fast he’s sinking.

It’s like I’m watching him get swallowed up by a sea monster. If Willa was right about what she said, about the sea being Cole’s own darkness, then it scares me for him. Because he’s on the brink of drowning.

When rehearsal finishes, I talk with Lex for just a couple of seconds, and then I look around for Cole. But he’s already gone. That worries me, but it’s almost six o’clock, and I can’t pass up an opportunity to finally get some real answers. So I head up to the farmhouse porch.

Glory pulls up at six on the dot in a rusted blue Subaru. I smile at the faded THERE IS NO PLANET B sticker on the back window.

“I’ve had this car forever,” she says as I climb in, and the statement sounds like it’s part apology and part brag. “Your mom hated it.” She looks at me out the corner of her eye. “It was a piece of shit even way back then.”

It’s weird to be in the car with Glory, but the ride doesn’t take long. In less than ten minutes we’re pulling up to a tiny little brick home with a lighthouse flag out front.

She leads me in the front door and closes it quick behind us. “The kitties like to escape,” she says. “So I have to be careful.”

“Something smells good,” I tell her, and she seems so pleased.

“Homemade chicken noodle soup,” she says. “My one and only specialty. It should be ready soon.”

We settle on the couch together, and I’m glad when a big orange cat crawls into my lap. I’m stroking his head, and he’s purring so contentedly.

“That’s Nacho,” she tells me. “The cat Nicki was feeding that summer. When I went back to the farmhouse the next day, he was just sitting there looking so sad. And he was just a scrawny little guy then.” She shrugs. “I couldn’t leave him there.” She is staring at the cat in my lap, and I wonder if she’s seeing my mother holding him instead of me. “He’s so old now. My grumpy old man.” She stops for a second, and I see her thinking about something. “But Nicole will always be just the way she was that summer. That same age. Always.” She gives me a little smile, but there’s so much heartbreak underneath it. “It’s funny, when you think about it.”