Chapter 31. Tessa
Tessa
I could have appeared upstairs by the golden door—I know that’s where I’m headed—but nostalgia tugs at my heart.
I take the long route, meandering along the overgrown trail, full of echoes from the night of the party with my classmates running and laughing through the bushes.
Above me is the gray roof and that nook beside the northernmost turret where Reed and I watched the shooting stars.
Memories slip out from every corner. Our moms laying the wreath together on the porch steps.
Our friends arriving on the lawn for the séance.
And always, there’s Reed. We’re sock skating in the ballroom, rolling with laughter on the circular bed upstairs, lying quietly side by side through a storm.
When I dissolve through the entrance, instead of focusing on the impressive compass rose inlaid on the floor, my eyes dart to the stairs where Reed held and kissed me through the night, hoping, wondering if we could be great together. And we were.
Somehow in such a brief span of time, the van der Born estate has transformed from a dusty, empty house full of cobwebs into a refuge. Just as the boy inside it transformed from my rival into my friend.
The ache for him is overpowering and all-consuming: for the things I never said to him, and for those I did that I regret—our last moments always hovering at the edge of my mind.
Reluctantly, I march upstairs to meet my fate.
The golden timer has less than an hour remaining.
I’m cutting it close. Hal would scold me, but I suppose it’s good I’ve left it this long.
In a secret corner of my mind, I hoped this would give Reed more time to arrive back here, if he somehow managed to escape wherever he went.
But the house is empty. The only sounds are the branches rubbing against the glass of the upper windows and a whistling draft blowing through the walls.
This is going to be for me to face alone.
It isn’t the end, I realize. Reed’s out there somewhere, like I am. This door was meant for us both. We’re linked, he and I. And if we’re linked on this plane, then perhaps I can find him on the other side, tug on that cord between us. I vow not to stop searching until I know he’s safe.
With my mind made up, I take a steadying breath and stare down the countdown clock.
I’m coming, Reed …