Swirling black, there's a shimmery mist in it, like a myriad of eyes glistening in the dark. It watches me—or so I think. It stares me down just as time ceases to exist.

The breeze blows again, gently brushing my cheek in the lightest caress.

"It's you, isn't it?" I whisper before I can help myself.

My pulse jams against the surface of my skin, my heart about to burst out of my chest.

With a courage I never knew I possessed, I raise my hand, tracing the foggy outline with the tips of my fingers.

The shimmery particles flash, almost like a blink.

I freeze with my hand midair, waiting for some type of confirmation. The mist neither acknowledges me nor responds to my quiet inquiry. It simply exists, hovering, observing.

"You can understand me, can't you?" I ask gently, moving my hand until I almost reach the top of the outline. As my fingers connect with those particles, they sway lightly, blinking more and emitting a flash of light that tickles as it meets the surface of my skin.

A light giggle escapes me as the shimmery black mist touches my palm, tingles spreading down my back.

"You were there. That night," I continue, digging into the depths of my memory for the same sensation—for the same light brush of satin against my flesh.

The mist closes itself, the black becoming more pronounced before a million lights erupt within the darkness.

My lips tremble with hope and mirth and unending optimism.

"I know you." I smile. "I'll always know you."

He's been with me from the beginning, but I couldn't open my mind to it. I was blind to the world beyond, and that blindness caused me to miss him.

Raising myself on the tips of my toes, I press both palms against the cloud of smoke. Tingles of awareness spread down my body as well as an ineffable sense of déjà vu. But before I can come closer, the mist disintegrates and disappears.

I stumble back, blinking furiously as I look everywhere around me.

"Nikki?" I call out, my voice thick and painful. "Please come back."

Only my own echo greets me, his name reverberating in the room like the most crippling lash against my skin.

"Nikki? Please..."

Surely, I didn't imagine it, did I?

He was here, with me. Just like he promised.

"Oh, Nikki," I cry out, exhausted and alone.

ELEVEN

The elevator doors slide open on the ground floor and Thea's voice rings out from the lobby.

"Luce!" she calls my name as she dashes toward me. "I got us a table at the restaurant. They're just serving breakfast. Let's go," she says as she grabs my hand, steering me toward the entrance of the restaurant.

A waiter shows us to a table for two and takes our orders. I opt for hash browns, eggs, and avocado toast while Thea chooses eggs and bacon.

"What about your brother?"