His lips quirk up in a smile. I feel myself breathing out a sigh as he crosses the room to envelop me in his strong arms, pulling me to his chest, where I burrow my face into the soft wool of his sweater and don’t let go. “You’re still Emma to me. Always were. Always will be.”

Tears prick my eyes. “Aren’t you mad?”

“At Gravelle, for continuing to manipulate you? And all of us?” Ollie asks. “Hell yeah, I am. At you? Never.”

I let out a half choke, half sob of utter relief, then wipe my tears away with the back of my hand.

“I never knew the ‘original’ Emma,” Ollie muses, holding onto my shoulders and wiping a tear away from my cheek with his thumb. “You are the only Emma I care about. Okay?”

I’ve never felt more relieved. I don’t deserve a friend this loyal. But, selfishly, I know I need him. I always have, ever since we were kids.

The next few weeks pass quickly as we prepare for end-of-term exams. Ollie’s initial surprise at my confession that I’m a clone has morphed into concern. If I’m a Similar, then I, too, can be terminated by Gravelle’s stealth virus. Though I tell him not to dwell on that—even as it hangs over me, a constant threat—I notice he seems even more protective of me than usual. I can’t go anywhere on campus without Ollie popping up.

I manage to avoid Levi until we all leave for Christmas break, except for one encounter in the library. We’re both returning books we’ve checked out over the semester. I feel an intense pang as I see him standing there at the book return, wearing his signature crisp white T-shirt, even in the dead of winter. I remember how strong and warm his arms are. I feel so vulnerable in his presence, I could break.

I notice the book on the top of his stack: Brave New World. I start to tell him what I think of that novel, how it woke me up and shook me to my core. But I stop myself, afraid of what I might say instead, without meaning to.

I walk out the library door into the blustery air. It’s the last time I see Levi until the new year.

• • •