Epoch (Transcend Duet #2)(7)

Her dad flew out of the car without even killing the ignition. He knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He flipped on a flashlight, aiming the beam into the woods behind the house.

“What’s back there?”

“A tree house and a lake.”

We checked out the tree house and the area of the lake around the dock, but by that time it was too dark to see much.

If I wouldn’t have been such a jerk, we wouldn’t have broken up and Daisy would have been with me that night. The Gallaghers took me home. I didn’t want them to leave me. I wanted to stay with them and help look for Daisy, but they insisted there wasn’t any more I could do.

I didn’t fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. Concern for Daisy suffocated my conscience and heart. But eventually, I surrendered to my tired eyes.

“Nate?”

I jumped awake, startled by my dad’s voice and his hand on my head.

“Daisy … did the Gallaghers call?” I bolted up straight, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands.

My dad frowned the same frown he gave me when he told me my mom had left us for the first time. Actually, this frown was worse. So much worse.

“Mr. Gallagher just called.” He rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. “They found her.”

“Where?” I scooted out of bed, shoving my legs into my jeans and tugging on a dirty shirt. “I need to see her. I was so stupid, Dad. I messed up. I have to apologize. Her mom said she was very emotional after we broke up.” My feet fought with my shoes as I tried to get them on without untying them. “I bet I made her cry. I’m such an idiot.”

My dad grabbed my arm, squeezing it tighter than he did my shoulder. I eyed his hand with confusion before shifting my gaze to meet his. I don’t remember what he said. I just remember how it felt to have my world end—my heart ripped from my chest. My soul shattered.

Nothing would ever hurt this bad … nothing.

Daisy’s body.

Dead.

Drowned in the lake.

An accident.

Old abandoned property.

Tangled in the rope under the dock.

My dad’s expression grew more painfully sympathetic as I shook my head in denial. Fifteen-year-old girls don’t die like that. Daisy would never go to the lake by herself. It was a mistake. Not her body. No … no … NO!

Nate’s words rip from his chest—strangled and raw.

I bat the tears away from my eyes while his gaze remains fixed to the ceiling—the past.

“She was murdered,” I whisper.

His head rolls side to side on the pillow. “No. She drowned. It was an accident. They said she must have fallen out of the canoe while trying to tie it to the dock. She hit her head on the post and got tangled in the rope. I don’t know why she was there. She knew better.”

“Nate …” I can’t stop the tears.

He glances at me and snaps his body to sitting, grabbing my head with urgency, eyes wide and wild. “You remember …” he whispers, wiping my tears with his thumbs.

Rubbing my quivering lips together, I shake my head. “She was murdered.”

His brows pull together. “No. Why are you saying this?”

“Doug Mann …”

He continues to shake his head, gripping mine more firmly. “How do you know that name?”

I swallow past the swelling pain in my throat. “He was the son. Wasn’t he?”

Nate’s gaze flits along my face for a few seconds. “Yes. Jesus … tell me what’s going on? Where did you hear his name? What do you remember? Where is this coming from?”

I wasn’t her. I wasn’t her. I wasn’t her. God … whose memories are these, if they’re not Nate’s?

I blink out more tears. “I’m scared.” All these years, my need to feel safe … the harbor I found in Griffin … This is it. This is the fear that’s chased me even when I couldn’t see it—but I’ve always felt it.

A sob breaks from my chest.

Nate pulls me into his arms. “Don’t be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you ever again.”

I’m not her. Nate … no …

He can’t protect me. I’m not his to protect, but my body doesn’t know that as I cling to the familiar home of his embrace. I’ve been here many times before.

Oh my god …

I have been here many times before. Not this body … but somewhere in my mind the memory has transcended time, breeding new life every time Nate touches me. Whatever this is … it’s woven into a part of me I cannot explain—a part of me I can no longer deny.

Who am I?

A ghost?

An unfinished life?

A fractured soul?

Everything hurts. I’ve spent my life trying to find myself. Desperate for a sense of normalcy. I found it with Griffin. I found everything with him.

Until now …

I claw at Nate’s shirt, desperate to feel safe.

“Shh …” He pulls me closer, until my arms are wrapped around his body, face buried into his neck.

I can’t let go—can’t pull away. I’m a misfit puzzle, and some of my pieces fit with Nate. Only he can fill in the gaps and make those parts of me feel whole.