Why is Lennon even checking the app still?

My gaze shifts back to Jake. He hasn’t moved an inch. I want to approach him so he’s not alone, but what will I say? I never spoke to Lily about him and what he meant to her. Plus, the coin I created had something to do with Lily’s death. I would probably just make him more uncomfortable than he already is.

“There’s Shy’s parents,” Lennon says, redirecting my attention toward a redheaded woman and a tall man with blond hair and black-framed glasses. They are a gorgeous pair, and it’s obvious Shy takes after his dad. Speaking of Shy—where is he?

“Maybe he’s not here yet,” Lennon suggests, reading my mind.

I watch Shy’s mom and dad longer than necessary. They interact with several adults, shaking hands, giving hugs, offering and accepting condolences. It makes me feel like an imposter. What am I doing here?

I don’t belong.

At that moment, Mr. Savior’s eyes cut to me, and my breath freezes in my throat. His gaze is unsettling in a way I can’t describe, except to say I think he knows exactly what I’m thinking, and he agrees.

I twist toward Lennon. “I’ll be back.”

I don’t give her a chance to ask where I’m going before heading down the hall, unable to shake the weight of Mr. Savior’s stare. I don’t actually know where I’m going, but when I see a bathroom up ahead, I make a beeline for it.

That is until Thane Treadway comes down the opposite end of the corridor.

I halt, torn between retreating into the bathroom and turning around to find Lennon again.

“I didn’t think you would be here,” Thane says before I can make a decision to move.

Dammit.

“Why wouldn’t I come? Lily and I—” I don’t finish that sentence. What can I say? Lily and I were friends? But I might’ve inadvertently killed her?

Thane takes a few deliberate steps toward me.

“She’s dead because of you,” Thane says harshly. “So don’t say you’re here for her. You’re here because you feel guilty.”

I flinch, because maybe he’s right. Maybe I don’t know the difference between mourning and guilt.

“I didn’t kill her!” I hiss.

“You might not have pulled the trigger, but you gave someone the gun. Isn’t that how you did it? You trapped Vera’s spirit in the coin and then lost it.”

How does Thane know this? When I don’t answer, he laughs under his breath.

“You have no idea how this all works, do you? This will keep happening, you should know. It can be a never-ending cycle. Is that what you want? More funerals to attend?”