“The next new moon is on the twenty-second.”

“Why? Why would you do that?” he asked hoarsely, sounding like he might also start crying. He leapt up from the couch and started pacing the rug in between the two bright red couches.

I clapped my hands over my face and released a few sobs before catching my breath enough to tell him, “I can’t leave. You should go. I mean, the longer you stay in Willow, the likelier it is that someone’s going to spot you.”

“How can I leave now if there’s a chance that you’re going to…”

A torrent of tears poured down my cheeks. And since without either one of us saying as much but both of us knowing that morning in the library may be the last time we’d ever see each other, Trey kissed me.

I’d assumed since the first time we’d ever kissed that eventually Trey and I would have sex when the time was right. I thought when the moment finally arrived, it would be romantic—like the physical version of a promise. But instead, it felt more like a desperate, reluctant farewell. I never would have thought that the first time we’d have sex would be quite possibly the only time we’d ever have the chance.

CHAPTER 10

WE AGREED THAT TREY WOULD stay in Willow at least until Sunday night—until after Mr. and Mrs. Portnoy’s memorial service, at which I would attempt to lure the spirits driving the curse out of Mischa’s soul. It suddenly seemed like a fortunate twist of fate that tornados had torn through town a few days earlier, because a perfect solution had occurred to me. “I think you could probably stay at my mom’s boyfriend’s house without anyone noticing. A tree fell on it and damaged the roof, but it looks pretty stable. It’ll be cold, but unless it rains, you’ll probably be fine there. And I’m sure there’s food in the kitchen.”

I gave Glenn’s address to Trey and told him to take my mom’s bike to get there before too many drivers were out on the streets of Willow. Since my mom hadn’t ridden her bike in ages, I figured she wasn’t likely to notice it missing that weekend. But saying good-bye to him before we went our separate ways was grueling. I studied his face, trying to memorize the details of it—the exact curve of his nose, the exact shade of blue of his eyes—wanting that moment to be fresh in my mind. If there was a chance my life was going to flash before my eyes within the next two weeks, I would have been happy for the memory of that morning with Trey to have been preserved.

Trey hugged me so hard it felt like I was about to board the Titanic, and we both knew that I was going to end up in the cold waves. He remained behind in the library so that he could rearm the security system and slip out after it officially opened for business so as to not arouse suspicion. After the door closed behind me, I didn’t allow myself to look over my shoulder at him through the library’s front doors. If I didn’t keep my feet moving in the direction of home, I might very well have agreed to run off to the train station in Ortonville with him, despite already having a pretty good idea of how that adventure would end.