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PROLOGUE

Fifteen years ago

PATIENCE MCGRAW COULDN’T breathe She placed her hand on top of her chest and wondered if it was possible to have a heart attack and die from fear Or ht and here she was, on possibly the nificant day of her life, and she couldn’t catch her breath Talk about lame

“The snow’stoward the mountains just east of town

Patience looked up and nodded “It’s getting warmer”

It’s getting warroan Why did she have to sound so stupid? Why did she have to be so nervous? This was Justice, her best friend since he’dof October last year They’d met in the school cafeteria and they’d reached for the last cupcake He’d let her have it; she’d offered to share She figured because he was older, he would refuse, but he’d smiled instead and that day they’d become friends

She knew hiether, went to the ether It was fun It was easy Or it had been until a feeeks ago when she’d suddenly looked into Justice’s dark blue eyes and felt so she’d never experienced before

Her mom had reassured her it was normal Patience was fourteen, Justice was sixteen and it was unlikely they would stay friends forever But Patience wasn’t sure she liked the change Before, she hadn’t had to think about everything she said or worry about what she wore, or how her hair looked Now she was always thinking, whichout

After two ht, every action, she was done She was going to tell Justice the truth That she liked him That she wanted him to be more than her best friend If he liked her back, well, she didn’t knoould happen then, but she was sure it would be wonderful If he didn’t, she would probably die of a broken heart

They walked through the quiet residential neighborhood of Fool’s Gold The small toas nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas With spring chasing ainter, there were buds on trees and the first daffodils and tulips of the season swayed in the afternoon breeze All of which had nothing to do with the fact that she was seriously scared Because while talking about dying of a broken heart was very Pride and Prejudice—her ht be painful and a little gross

But she had to know Had to stop wondering She should just tell hiet it over with There was a school dance in teeks and she wanted to go with Justice

She was pretty sure he didn’t like anyone else Although he o years older than her, he didn’t have a girlfriend and they always hung out together at lunch Not that he’d tried to kiss her She wasn’t sure how she felt about kissing, but if she was going to have a boy kiss her, she wanted it to be Justice Oh God, why did her stomach hurt so much?

“Patience?”

She jumped “Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

She came to a stop and clutched her books to her chest “I’m fine Why do you ask?”

“You’re quiet Is so?”

His eyes were so beautiful, she thought Dark, dark blue They crinkled a little at the corners when he laughed, which wasn’t that often He had a great srown too fast, but cute And sweet to her

“Justice, I need to ask you so”

He nodded and waited, facing her “Sure What?”

She opened her ot lost in fear and panic and—

“Hey, Justice”

They both turned and saw Ford Hendrix crossing the street toward them Patience exhaled, both relieved and frustrated by the interruption

Ford was one of six kids Dark hair and eyes All the girls thought he was hot, but Patience only saw Justice

“Could you believe that history test?” Ford asked He and Justice were the saether “Hey, Patience”

“Hi”

They all fell into step together, walking toward home, the moment lost

“Man, why do we have to know that stuff?” Ford asked “World War One was like a hundred years ago or so That essay question”

“Brutal,” Justice finished for him

Patience glanced at hi She sed as she realized he ht ask her what she’d wanted to talk about and she couldn’t possibly say anything in front of Ford He was a nice enough guy, but no way!

“I, uh here See you tomorrow”

“Patience, wait”

But she ignored Justice and hurried away, ducking around a house and through a backyard as she made her escape

THE NEXT MORNING, Patience was determined not to wait another second to tell Justice the truth She’d spent a horrible night tossing and turning, feeling a little sick to her sto to be brave She was going to be honest If things went really bad, she was sure herto move

She walked fro for months now He lived a couple of blocks closer to town so he was on her way As she walked down the sidewalk, she looked at the small two-bedroom house he shared with his uncle Nor for her Only he wasn’t there this

Did he know? Had he figured out what she wanted to tell hiusted? Did he think she was a complete dork and was so embarrassed he couldn’t speak to her?

Anxiety propelled her up the stairs If it was bad, she wanted to hear it fast He should just tell her the truth so she wouldn’t hope Then her heart would break and she could get over it and

She paused on the porch as she realized the front door was partially open As if someone had left it that way in a hurry She frowned as she moved forward

“Justice? Are you okay?”

She knocked once and the door swung open

She’d been in the s roo roole bathroom in the back She remembered a sofa and a couple of chairs, some kind of coffee table

Only all of that was gone now The living roo Not a cushion or a box or a scrap of paper It was as if no one had ever lived here at all

Patience sloalked through the house Her breathing sounded loud in the stillness She didn’t understand How could everything be gone?

The kitchen was as vacant as the rest of the place The cupboards stood open, the shelves bare The sink was empty, as were all the drawers In Justice’s bedroom, there was no hint he had ever lived there

She returned to the living room and blinked away sudden tears She turned in a slow circle, fear growing inside her

This wasn’t right People didn’t just disappear in the night So bad

She darted out the front door and ran all the way home She burst in the back door and yelled for her mom

“Justice is gone! He’s gone and his uncle’s gone and all their stuff”