HERE (On the Otherside Series, Book One)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Chapter Twenty-Five

When I come to my senses, the car is moving. Still disoriented, I reach for the dashboard to steady myself. “Monica?”

“You remembered, didn’t you?”

My heart thumps wildly. “Where are we going?”

“You got a dazed look and sat there saying things. Things you said that day. You remembered.”

“Where are we going?”

Her hands hold the steering wheel in a tight grip and she leans over it, her gaze intent. “They came to my house.”

Panic festers. “Who came to your house?”

“They asked if I saw you and I thought they were loons. Of course, I hadn’t seen you! You were dead. But you’re not dead. And not only are you not dead, but you’re with my boyfriend. My boyfriend!” Her eyes shift from side to side.

“Who came to your house?”

“It was an accident.” She whips her head around to me. “You know it was an accident.”

“It was an accident.” I repeat, swallowing bile.

“But after you were gone, Reece…he finally looked at me. Me. And then I was so happy. I had everything I always wanted. But then you came back. Why did you come back? I saw the way he looked at you. Still. He loves you still. After everything, he loves you still.”

“Who came to your house?”

“General Ghertner.”

Oh, God. I reach for the door handle, jerking as hard as I can even though we’re traveling at least fifty miles an hour. The door doesn’t budge. “Where are we going, Monica?”

“He came to my house this morning and told me that you might show up. That you were dangerous. That you looked like you, but it’s not really you. He said you’ll hurt everyone who loved you.” She looks at me with wild eyes. “Clearly, you’re dangerous. You’re trying to steal Reece.”

“No, you’re wrong, Monica. I’m not stealing Reece. I’m with Evan, remember?”

Her eyes narrow. “Then why were you at his house?”

I fight my rising hysteria. “He’s taking me to the ceremony, remember? Let’s go back and talk to Reece. He’ll straighten out everything.”

She bites her lower lip and shakes her head. “He said you were tricky and you’d try to talk me out of it.”

My breath is shaky. “Talk you out of what?”

“Turning you in.”

I jerk the door handle with renewed energy. When nothing budges, I start looking around the car for something to break the window.

“Why did you come back?” she asks.

“Evan brought me. See? I want Evan.” I lean over the backseat, looking for something hard. There’s nothing.

“As long as you’re here, you’ll always be a threat. General Ghertner said you’ll infect us and make us do bad things. You’re like a disease.”

There’s a car approaching behind us. Oh, please let it be Reece. “No! I promise I’m not going to hurt anyone. And I’m not staying! I’m leaving and Evan is helping me go. So is Reece. That’s why I was at his house.” As soon as I say it, I realize my deadly mistake.

Her eyes narrow. “So Evan is part of all of this, too.”

“I didn’t say that.”

In the distance, a huge crowd fills the street in an open square covered by a giant tarp. Monica slows down.