“Yeah, of course.” He smiled stiffly at Charlie, and she looked back: every moment she was there, he felt more and more like his skin was about to crawl off his bones. He would have thought it was a side effect of her chip, except it had not happened until he knew what she was.

“Sit down, John.” Charlie smiled, gesturing to the arm of the couch beside her.

“Sorry I don’t have chairs and stuff. I never meant to live here long-term,” John explained nervously.

“How long have you been here?” Charlie’s familiar voice was like tin.

John sat down beside her. “Since—everything. This is where I lived when I first came here.”

“Oh.” She glanced around the room again. “I guess I don’t remember it.”

“You never saw it,” he said, unable to keep the coldness from his voice. Jessica shot him a warning glance, and he took a deep breath. Charlie began scanning the room again. She stared straight ahead, her face taking on a look of concentration. Her eyes swept up and down the room in strokes, her head and torso slowly turning until she was looking almost directly behind her: in a second, she would see the gap behind the couch. “Charlie, I had fun the other night,” John said quickly, forcing himself to mean it. “Do you want to have dinner again tonight?”

She turned back around, looking surprised. “Yes, of course—that sounds great, John. Same place?”

“Same place. Around seven?”

“Sure.”

“Great!” Jessica declared, and stood. “Anyway, I have to go,” she said. “Want to walk out with me, Charlie?” She glanced nervously at John, and he got up quickly.

“I can give you a ride if you need one,” he volunteered, “I know you said you were walking.”

Thank you, Jessica mouthed from behind her back.

“No,” Charlie said. “I think I’ll keep walking. I’m not parked too far away. It’s really nice outside.”

“Okay, then,” John said. Charlie moved gracefully across the living room and let herself out. Jessica let out a long breath like she’d been holding it. They went to the window and, silently, they watched the imposter go, until she had disappeared around a bend in the road.

“What if she comes back?” Jessica said. “I don’t want you alone with that thing,” she finished, practically spitting the last word. John nodded in vigorous agreement.

“I don’t want to be alone with her, either,” he said.

Jessica looked thoughtful for a moment. “I won’t be gone long,” she said. “We need help. And if you don’t think Charlie should go to the hospital, then the hospital has to come to her.”

“Marla?”