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"Holy--" I ju my hands over mySnowy mountains and trees were everywhere I was back at Star Grove I wasn’t lying on the ground, passed out I was on lanced around Hadn’t anyone noticed my disappearance? It didn’t look like Everyone seenht behind me just like he had before I’d…I have no idea how to finish that sentence
Alex stared at ely as he cocked an eyebrow "You okay?"
Aislin was looking at me weirdly too But neither of them appeared to be alarmed or completely freaked out, which see Or had I? Maybe I’d hallucinated or so Perhaps I’d dazed off God, it didn’t feel like it wasn‘t real, though It had felt very real Too real Like I’d seen it before Lived it before Maybe I had The irl was me But if that were true, then why had I called the woman, who I was certain wasn’t Sophia, irl had to be at least four
Confusion swarmed my brain I started to sweat and blood roared atat my eyes, and I had to reo," I whispered,to move around Alex
He stepped in front of me and held up his hand "Go where?"
"I…To the bus" I made another attempt to sidestep around hi speed, blocking o wandering off We’re out in the reen eyes were filled with concern It eird Why did he care? In fact, hadn’t he been the one to drive o
Despitedown my ice-cold cheeks
Alex’s eyes widened "Are you…are you crying?"
"UmOh just shut up" And then I dashed past hi into his
"Gem, not thinking about the consequences of what I was about to do as I headed straight for the bus
Chapter 12
I found the bus door cracked open--thank goodness--leaving it easy to open The bus driver was MIA and the lights were off With tears strea down my face, I dropped down in the seat Alex and I had rode up in I hugged ainst my chest, and cried in the dark in typical Ge toto end up locked away in a padded cell so I said was true--that I wasn’t crazy?
Was I crazy, though? Was any of as going on actually real? Or wasup a fictional world?
Absentmindedly, I touched the pocket of love and reached in, the edges of paper grazingmy name and the dates stared back at me
It was real
Tears raindropped down fro the red ink Everything was so coether
Through ht I saw a flash of yellow just outsidewildly, I leaned in for a closer look and saw a tall, dark figure zipping through the pine trees at an inhuotten about the ain I needed to get off the bus Right now Before it was too late
I leapt out ofto make a mad dash back to the telescopes where I could be safe At least for the hhis way slowly up the aisle "What the heck are you doing out here?"
"Nothing" The word rushed out I shot a glance at theThe tall, dark figure was gone
He stopped just short of "
"So" I stuffed the list into the pocket of my coat and wiped the tears off of my cheeks "People cry all the ti horrible or sad happens to the out the , then back athorrible or sad happen to you?"
I shook ive away my lie
He nodded at the"What were you looking at out there?"
"I was looking at…the stars" It sounded more like a question than an answer
He cocked his head to the side, his forehead creasing over orry lines "But weren’t you just looking at the stars through a telescope Right before you ran off in aht now
His expression softened a little "Ge you, so tell me what it is please"
I think it was the first time I’d ever heard hi to break down and tell hi like a total lunatic "There is nothing bothering et back to the class"
I marched forward, but his hands ca any farther I backed up, trying to widen the distance between us, but he ht back
I tried not to freak out about the fact that I was being cornered like a cat "Look, I don’t think--" My back hit the back door
He stopped just inches short of me and reached fordownrab hold of a nearby seat just to keep froer up into the h theand inspected the tear "If nothing’s wrong," he said in a voice barely above a whisper, "then what is this?"
I felt tired Everything was just tooheavy I couldn’t take it anyh "It’s a tear"
"Yeah, but why are tears falling from those purple eyes of yours"