For the first time since waking up, I thought I was finally getting used to being alive again.
The weakness was fading.
The headaches weren’t as frequent.
I could walk around the house without Mum asking me if I needed to sit down every five minutes.
Even school had started feeling normal again.
And, surprisingly, so had Conrad.
Or maybe I should say…
I had started feeling normal around Conrad.
Whatever this thing between us was, I had stopped trying to name it.
We texted constantly.
We hung out almost every day.
Sometimes he’d show up just because he wanted to see me.
Sometimes I’d find myself looking for him in a crowded hallway without even realizing I was doing it.
And whenever our eyes met, there was always that little pause.
That strange, quiet moment where neither of us looked away immediately.
I liked it.
I wasn’t sure what that meant.
But I liked it.
Maybe too much.
That morning, I woke up to three messages from him.
Conrad: Morning.
Conrad: You’re probably asleep.
Conrad: Definitely asleep.
I smiled.
Me: You’re annoying.
His reply came almost instantly.
Conrad: And yet you answered.
I shook my head.
Me: Go away.
Conrad: Make me.
I stared at the screen for a second longer than necessary.
Then I locked my phone.
“Idiot.”
I was still smiling when I walked downstairs.
Breakfast was unusually quiet.
Grandpa sat at the end of the table, reading the newspaper while Mum prepared toast.
I poured myself some juice and sat down.
“You look happy,” Grandpa said without looking up.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Am I not allowed to be?”
“Of course you are.”
He lowered the newspaper slightly.
“It’s just good to see.”
I smiled.
“Thanks.”
He returned to his newspaper.
I picked up a piece of toast.
Then something caught my eye.
A photograph.
It was tucked into the corner of the newspaper.
A teenage boy.
Dark hair.
A crooked smile.
I stared at it.
Something inside me twisted.
“Who’s that?”
Mum looked over.
Her expression immediately changed.
“That’s Caleb Flint.”
The name hit me like a slap.
Caleb.
I knew that name.
I remembered hearing it.
I remembered his face.
I remembered the way everyone at school had whispered about him.
The deaths.
The missing children.
The fear spreading through Bailey Falls.
My fingers tightened around the toast.
“What happened to him?”
Mum hesitated.
“Destiny…”
“What?”
Grandpa lowered his newspaper.
“You really don’t remember?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Mum sighed.
“Caleb died in the woods.”
My stomach dropped.
“How?”
“He stepped into an old bear trap.”
I stared at her.
“He…”
My mouth suddenly felt dry.
“He was bleeding?”
Mum nodded.
“Badly.”
“Did anyone find him?”
“Eventually.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at Grandpa.
“Hours, I think.”
My heart began pounding.
“No.”
Everyone looked at me.
“No?”
I shook my head.
“That’s not…”
I stopped.
I didn’t know what to say.
Because the memory in my head didn’t match.
I remembered Caleb.
But I remembered something else.
Something that made absolutely no sense.
“I thought…”
“What?” Mum asked.
I swallowed.
“I thought he was one of the boys who…”
I couldn’t finish.
“Who what?” Grandpa asked.
I looked at him.
“Nothing.”
The room suddenly felt too warm.
I pushed my chair back.
“I need to get ready for school.”
I spent the entire drive thinking about Caleb.
Maybe I had heard the story wrong.
Maybe I had confused him with someone else.
Maybe the coma had messed with my memory.
That explanation made sense.
At least…
It was the only explanation I had.
By the time I reached school, I’d almost convinced myself to forget about it.
Almost.
Then I saw Mrs.
Flint.
She was standing outside the main office.
I froze.
She looked tired.
Older than I remembered.
Her eyes were red.
For a second, I couldn’t understand why seeing her made my chest hurt.
Then I remembered.
Caleb.
Her son.
I walked toward her.
“Mrs.
Flint?”
She looked up.
Her expression softened.
“Destiny.”
She hugged me.
I stiffened.
Not because I didn’t want the hug.
Because something about it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
“I’m glad you’re doing better,” she whispered.
“Thank you.”
She pulled away.
“I heard you’re back at school.”
“Yeah.”
Her smile was sad.
“Caleb would’ve been happy to see you.”
I froze.
“What?”
She looked confused.
“Caleb.”
“I know.”
She gave me a strange look.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah.”
I forced a smile.
“Sorry.
I just…”
I looked toward the office.
“Did Caleb ever…”
I stopped.
“Did he ever come back to school after the woods?”
Her expression changed.
“No.”
“Right.”
Of course.
The bear trap.
The woods.
The blood.
I nodded.
“Sorry.”
She touched my arm.
“It’s okay.”
Then she walked away.
I watched her disappear through the doors.
Something didn’t feel right.
But I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“You’re doing that thing again.”
I turned.
Conrad stood behind me.
“What thing?”
“That thing where you stare at something like you’re trying to remember whether you’ve seen it in a dream.”
I stared at him.
“That’s oddly specific.”
“You do it a lot.”
“Do I?”
He nodded.
“Yeah.”
I looked away.
“Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Probably.”
He held out a cup.
I looked at it.
“What is that?”
“Hot chocolate.”
I smiled.
“You brought me hot chocolate?”
“Don’t make it weird.”
I laughed.
“I wasn’t.”
“You were about to.”
I took the cup.
“Thanks.”
He smiled.
“No problem.”
We started walking down the hallway.
I looked at him.
“Do you remember Caleb Flint?”
His steps slowed.
“Yeah.”
My heart jumped.
“You do?”
“Of course.”
“What happened to him?”
Conrad looked at me like the question was obvious.
“He died.”
“I know.
But…”
I hesitated.
“Do you remember what happened?”
He nodded.
“Bear trap.”
I stopped walking.
He turned around.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Destiny.”
“I’m fine.”
He studied my face.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
He didn’t look convinced.
But he didn’t push.
Instead, he reached for my hand.
Just briefly.
His fingers slipped between mine.
Warm.
Comforting.
Normal.
I looked down at our hands.
Then back at him.
He smiled.
And for a moment, everything inside me settled.
Maybe I really was just confused.
Maybe the coma had scrambled things.
Maybe memories weren’t meant to be trusted after something like that.
I squeezed his hand.
He squeezed mine back.
And the strange feeling disappeared.
At least…
For now.
That afternoon, Parker and Kennedy were waiting for us outside the cafeteria.
Parker immediately noticed our joined hands.
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Oh.”
Kennedy looked down.
Then she grinned.
“Finally.”
I pulled my hand away.
“We’re not together.”
Conrad laughed.
“She’s right.”
Parker looked between us.
“Then why were you holding hands?”
“We were walking.”
“People walk without holding hands.”
“We were cold.”
Kennedy looked at the weather outside.
“It’s seventy degrees.”
I glared at her.
She laughed.
“Okay, okay.”
We continued walking.
Everything was fine.
Everything was normal.
Until I saw something written on the wall.
Three words.
Small.
Almost invisible beneath a layer of old paint.
DON’T LOOK BEHIND.
I stopped.
My breath caught.
For one horrifying second, the hallway disappeared.
I was somewhere else.
Trees.
Darkness.
Cold air.
A branch beneath my hand.
A voice screaming.
Don’t let her look behind you.
I blinked.
The hallway returned.
“Destiny?”
Conrad was staring at me.
I touched my stomach.
It hurt.
Not badly.
Just enough.
A familiar burning sensation.
The exact place where my scar had once been.
I lifted my shirt slightly.
Nothing.
No scar.
Just smooth skin.
I lowered my shirt.
“Destiny?”
“I’m okay.”
I looked at the wall again.
The writing was gone.
There was nothing there.
Just old, chipped paint.
My heart hammered.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“The writing.”
Parker looked at the wall.
“What writing?”
Kennedy shook her head.
“There isn’t anything there.”
I stared.
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
I swallowed.
Maybe I had imagined it.
Maybe the coma had left me with hallucinations.
Maybe my brain was still trying to piece together things that weren’t there.
I forced myself to smile.
“Never mind.”
Conrad reached for my hand again.
This time, I let him take it.
But as we walked away, I looked back one last time.
The wall was empty.
Still…
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d seen those words before.
Not here.
Somewhere else.
Somewhere cold.
Somewhere dark.
Somewhere that felt more real than this.
And for the first time since waking up, a thought entered my mind that I immediately tried to bury.
What if my memories weren’t wrong?
I stopped walking.
Conrad turned.
“What?”
I stared at him.
Then smiled.
“Nothing.”
But deep inside me, something had shifted.
Not enough to break the world.
Not yet.
Just enough to leave a tiny fracture.
A crack so small no one else could see it.
But once a crack appears…
all it needs is time to spread.