You've Reached Sam (83)

I only have a few minutes to change into my new dress before a million pictures are taken in front of the stage. Tristan gifts me a bouquet of yellow roses. My mother makes me take group photos with everyone around us, including David from history class, who I’ve never said more than five words to. Yuki introduces me to her parents, and they invite me, Rachel, and Jay to their home in Japan next summer. “A reunion!” Rachel cries, her face beaming. When the music dies, and the sun starts to set, I check the time. I need to go soon. Once the crowds dissipate a little, I go find the others to say good-bye.

The last call I have with Sam is tonight. I need to hurry home, get to my room, and be ready to say good-bye. I know he’ll ask me all about today. I only wish he was here to celebrate it with us instead …

“What about the graduation party?” Oliver asks me. “You can’t miss that—it’s gonna be lit.”

“I have something I need to do,” I say.

“Are you sure?” Mika asks. I give her this look and she nods knowingly. “Maybe you can meet us after. Just text me, okay?”

“I will,” I say, and hug them both.

With my phone clutched in my hand, I turn to go but—someone tall from the football team bumps into me. The impact is so hard, my phone is knocked out of my hands and hits the concrete, shattering the screen. I don’t even hear their mumbled apology. The world becomes a tunnel …

A chill runs through my body. I’m too terrified to move a muscle. My heart pounds as I reach down for my phone. But it won’t turn on. No matter what I try, it won’t turn on. The screen is black and shattered, and I don’t know what to do. I just stand there completely frozen, trying to process the full weight of what I’ve done.

Mika must have noticed something was wrong because she appears at my side.

“What is it?” she asks.

“My phone—I broke it—Mika, I broke it!” I keep repeating as she’s trying to calm me down, telling me it’s okay, when it isn’t. The buttons aren’t working. The screen remains black.

I turn to her. “I need your phone—” I grab it and call Sam’s number but it doesn’t go through. I try a few more times but the call keeps failing.

Oliver arrives. “What’s the matter?” he asks.

“Julie broke her phone,” Mika says gravely.

“Dang, I’m sorry. I’m sure we can go get it fixed tomorrow—”

“No. I need it tonight—let me see your phone—”

I take it from his hands before he can say anything. The call fails again. And again.

“Who’s she calling?” Oliver asks as I pace around, desperately trying the number again, holding his phone up to maybe get a different signal that Sam can find. I must appear out of my mind, because a crowd has formed around me, watching. Why isn’t this working?

I remember something Sam said. His voice echoes in my head.

Only our phones are connected.

I shove Oliver’s phone back at him as my mother arrives at the scene. She asks me what’s wrong, but I don’t have time to answer. I grab her phone and call Sam again, even though I know it won’t work. Nothing will. But I don’t know what else to do. The calls only work through my phone, and it’s cracked and broken because I was so stupid, I didn’t watch where I was going. I need to figure something out. I need to fix this.

Sam expects me to call him tonight. I can’t leave him waiting forever. What if he thinks I forgot about him? What if he thinks something is wrong? My heart is pounding harder than ever as a rush of adrenaline pumps through me, making it hard to breathe. I have to go find him. I have to find Sam. I’m not losing the last call I have left. I’m not losing him all over again. Not like this.

I turn to my mom. “I need your keys—” I take them from her hands without answering any questions. “Have Dad drive you home!”

I get into the car and start driving without knowing where I’m going. I drive through town, circling the streets, looking in store windows and coffee shops where we used to go, to see if Sam’s there—but he isn’t. I park the car and run into Sun and Moon, ignoring the looks from strangers, and check the table where we used to sit.

“Sam? Sam!” I call his name.

But he isn’t here. Of course he isn’t.

Then I remember it was him who went looking for me. I get back into the car, and the next thing I know I’m driving up route 10, where he crashed that night, again. I pull down my window and look out to see if he’s walking along the side of the road, searching for me. But Sam isn’t out here, either. Another chill goes through me. I glance at the clock and see it’s ten past eleven. I’m running out of time. If Sam isn’t here walking along the roads, where would he be? Where is he going?

I remember something else. During one of our phone calls. I asked him what he saw.

Fields. Endless fields.

Of course! I turn the car around at once and take the next exit, toward the fields where he brought me. I take the shorter road Jay found and reach the path in no time. As soon as I get out of the car, I am swallowed in darkness. My heart is pounding, and I can barely see a thing as I race up the path toward the fields. Tree branches reach over my head like thin hands. For a moment, I think about turning back to the car, but I push forward. Sam is waiting for me somewhere out there. I can’t let him down.