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"You stealingvoice echoes

"Shut up, Beans She’s new here"

Beans? Like the vegetable? I turn to see a guy in his oatee and a shaved head

"Is that what you told her?" he says, his eyes on me "I remember you"

"NoNot likely" I shake my head There’s no way

Is there?

"That’s what he says to all the pretty girls," Ivy warns

"No I remember you You came in a few months back--in the winter, I think--and I did your tattoo But" His head dips to the side and he frowns "You didn’t have that scar back then"

I glance at A?

"Prove it What’s the tattoo?" Amber tests

"A round symbol, on your pelvis"

"Water" It’s barely audible as it escapes from my mouth

"Yeah"

My blood doesn’t knohether to drain fro both faint and hot If I was really here, then"Did you photocopy my license that time, too?"

His mouth curves into a frown "Yeah We always do"

There’s a paper in this shop with the oldon to his arm "Can you please find it? I need that photocopy"

"What for?"

"Just, please" I beg, tears springing to my eyes

His eyes shift to Ivy "It’ll take me awhile"

"If you want, I can have my dad, the sheriff, here in fifteenup her phone "Of course, he’ll probably close you down for the rest of the day Maybe tomorrow, too"

Beans doesn’t look happy, but he holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender

I trail hi fro cabinet "Date? Na, hard in rifling through the pages and I’m temporarily distracted by the letters tattooed on his hand

Beans = knuckles

Oh my God

It was a clue DrWeimer’s exercise wasn’t pointless after all

"Are you okay?" Ivy asks, stepping in to take e more than a nod in return

It takes only five ht-and-a-half-by-eleven-inch sheet of paper

"You were here in Nove up the paper in the air

I feel Amber’s hand settle onas I look at the black-and-white face staring back at ainst the rising nausea that threatens as I hear myself say it for the first time

I know that name

It’s there, insideto break free of its shackles

I scan the rest of the information "I’ht here This is where I lived," I choke out I could drive there I could go right now and findwhat? "Why can’t I reht here Areat epiphany now? Should this not trigger so me?

Somewhere in my haze, I hear Amber ask, "Do you reotten that Beans and Ivy are even in the room

"Uhyeah That’s the license plate number, written on the bottoed up when you came in You said he didn’t do it, but I wasn’t sure"

My eyes snap to Beans "He? Who was I with?"

"Uhthe guy driving the car"

"Can you be a little more specific?" Amber demands, at the same time that Ivy smacks him in the arm and mutters, "Co here is very wrong "What did he look like?" Auy! Hell, I don’t remember You two left in in a black car Old-school o forto close up

No, it can’t be

"A Barracuda?" I et out in a hoarse whisper

"Yeah I think that hat it was"

His words feel like a solid punch to et the truth out of him--I swear it, Water I meanAlexandria I meanOh God" Amber’s hands shake as she races up the Welleses’ driveway, nailing each pothole with her little red Mini in her rush

I’,with each inhale as I frantically claay at the recesses offor Jesse in there And all I can keep thinking is how stupid I aht there in front ofto tell me what my mind still refuses to: I didn’t know someone like Jesse

I knew Jesse

I knew the smell of his skin, the taste of his aze onto find out I pro it as she continues racing down the driveway She looks green I doubt I’m much better

By the ti for the two figures standing by the garage, I can barely feel ht, isters is that the guy facing me, with his arms folded over his chest and a smile on his face, kneho I was all this tiuilty person, that’s who