He steps in closer, and his arms go around me. I gasp out loud as he pulls me against him. His heart is beating loud in my ear. It pounds against my chest. “Feel that?” he whispers, and I nod. “We’re still alive.” I close my eyes and relax against Cole. “We’re both alive. Right here. Right now.”

“Keep reminding me of that,” I say. And Cole laughs low. Under his breath.

“I will. I promise.”

Our hearts are still beating against each other. And for a few minutes, it feels like that’s all that matters. At least for right now.

We say goodbye, and Cole gives me one more piece of advice before he disappears. “Listen to music,” he tells me. “Wear headphones. It sounds silly, but it helps.”

I still don’t know if I believe him. But later—when the fog gets thick—I take his advice. And I don’t hear the whispers that night. Or the night after that. So maybe Cole’s trick works. Maybe all I need to get through this summer in one piece is a little elevator music in my ear when I go to sleep.

It’s Friday afternoon, almost the end of week one, when Glory sends me upstairs again. More files for Brody to look over. Only he’s in his office this time, sitting behind a big mahogany desk. He looks up when I clear my throat from the doorway.

“These are from Glory,” I say, and I show him the bright orange folders. He smiles at me and holds out his hand for the files.

“Avril,” he says as I hand them to him. “Nicole’s girl. Right?” I nod, and Brody puts the folders on his desk. He leans back in his chair to study me. “You know, when I saw you in here on Monday, it shook me for a second. Just looking at you standing there, from the back at least, I thought you were her.” He’s still smiling, but that same sad look is seeping through. The one Willa and Glory get when they talk about my mother. “I thought, here’s Nicole, standing right here in my office. At least until you turned around.” I remember his face. White. Like he’d seen a ghost. “And then Willa told me who you were, and it all made sense.”

Brody stands up and pushes his chair back. He crosses over to the wall of photos, and I follow him. We stand side by side and look at that picture. Third row. Second photograph from the left.