Chapters (95)
- Front Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Video #1
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Video #2
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Video #3
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- The Final Video
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Cover
And that was when I jumped up off the towel and followed her, splashing my way into the water and taking her in my arms…
But seeing her again is like ripping open a scab and making it bleed. The sweetest most twisted pain imaginable. And yet, as difficult as it may be, I’ll take that pain forever if that’s all there is.
“Just come back,” I say to no one. “Just come back, Chloe.”
At that second, my phone chimes.
Ron is right about social media—as he is about everything. Everyone would be better off without it. I’d deactivate my accounts, but what if Chloe tries to reach me? What if someone sends me a tip or a piece of information that tells me where she is?
My phone chimes again.
Olivia, probably texting from Gabriela’s house.
So you saw it?
What are you talking about?
Olivia tends to do that. She starts speaking or texting as though we’re in the middle of a conversation. This time her mind is moving faster than her hands.
The video.
What video? She can’t mean the one I made…why would she ask if I’d seen it? So, what video is she talking about?
Oh, she writes being as cryptic as possible.
Oh, what? What video?
Three dots appear, and they sit there a long time, taunting me. Is she composing a novel or a text?
Olivia? What is it?
Her message finally arrives. It’s a link to a video.
Posted on TikTok.
Dread fills me, like water filling my throat, cutting off air. But I can’t look away…I can’t…
Once it plays, I get why the TikTok Club acted so strange earlier.
Fourteen
In the video, a guy and a girl—I don’t know either one—sit on chairs next to each other. The girl has blond hair and wears a formal dress. The guy has hair the same color as mine and he’s wearing a white shirt and a poorly knotted bow tie. They both have large sunglasses on, so it’s tough to see their faces. But the guy is holding a toy steering wheel, the kind that makes an annoying horn sound every time a little kid presses it.
They sit next to each other and, using perfectly coordinated movements, smoothly and gracefully reenact a car accident. They sway to one side and then the other, their mouths opening wide, miming fear, the girl’s hair flipping to the left and then the right.
A familiar song plays, sung by a guy with a high, overly dramatic voice. It’s something Mom always listened to when she was in a funk. It kind of sounds like the singer is mocking the very words he’s singing.
And if a double-decker bus / Crashes into us / To die by your side / Is such a heavenly way to die