I let out a growl and punched his shoulder. “Not funny. Come on, I’m serious. I’m trying to tell you—”
He pushed my hand away. “You know, the lodge is six thousand feet up. Sometimes a high altitude can mess with the oxygen to your brain.”
I wanted to kill him. I tried to confide in him, to tell him a truly frightening thing that had happened to me. And he had to act like I was crazy or overcome with altitude sickness.
“Look, Robby—” I started.
The plane hit a bump. I grabbed the bottle of water I had on the tray in front of me.
“Were you telling me about a Twilight Zone episode you saw?” Robby said. “You can’t really expect me—”
“Yes, I did,” I snapped. “I expected you to listen to me and believe me and help me figure out what happened.”
I didn’t realize I was shouting until I saw two people turn around to stare at me. Down the row, Mom didn’t lift her head from the magazine she had finally opened.
Robby tapped his fingers on the chair arm. The plane bumped again. “Okay. Let’s see. You saw Aiden, even though he vanished last year and had no business being at the wedding. And then you talked to some hotel workers from 1924. Did I get that right?”
“Look. I know it sounds insane. There’s got to be an explanation, right?”
He didn’t reply. He gazed out the window. The sky was a solid blue, bright and clear. “Say something,” I insisted.
“I don’t know what to say, Harmony. I’m just thinking about those weird jokes you played. Those spells you cast.” He raised his eyes to mine. “The fact that you . . . you’re a witch.”
I uttered a short cry. “I am not, idiot. I’m not a witch. I’m a Fear.”
“And that means exactly what?”
“I taught myself how to do that stuff from books in our attic,” I told him. “You could do it, too.”
He shook his head. “No way. I don’t want to get into that kind of stuff. Maybe you are crazy.”
He turned in his seat to face me. “You know why you did those things at the wedding, Harmony?” he said. “Because you’re so jealous of Marissa. Don’t deny it. You know you’ve always been jealous of her.”
“Robby—”
“In your twisted mind, you just wanted to win something. You wanted to show Marissa. Show her who had the power, I guess.”
“You’re insane,” I said.
“No, I’m not. And I’d never hurt Marissa. I’d never cast spells like those. I’d never try to spoil her big day like that. And I’d never stir up whatever”—his voice dropped to a whisper—“whatever evil our ancestors were up to back in the day. Because that’s what it is. Evil. Maybe that’s why you’re drawn to it.”
Robby’s words really stung. I felt a throbbing pain in my chest, and I felt like I was going to burst out sobbing.
“That’s totally unfair!” I cried, again loud enough to make people turn around. “I played some mean tricks. I shouldn’t have done it. But I would never hurt Marissa. You . . . you don’t suspect me, do you? You don’t think I made her disappear?”
Robby’s expression was hard and cold. “I don’t know what to think.”
I could see that I’d made a terrible mistake. What made me think that I could confide in Robby? Even though he was my twin, he was on Marissa’s side in just about every argument. Even when we were little kids.
Well, none of that mattered now.
Marissa was gone. Our family was broken. Most likely, what lay ahead for us now were tears and horror and years of sadness.
Up till that moment, I’d forced myself to stay optimistic about finding Marissa. But now, sitting silently beside Robby, the two of us avoiding each other’s eyes, I gave in to the darkness, gave in to the idea that our lives were ruined forever.
And then, when we landed in Shadyside and the taxi pulled up to our driveway, the darkness lifted in an instant.
“The car!” Mom cried.
Yes, Marissa’s blue Fusion stood halfway up the driveway.
“It’s here!” Mom scrambled out of the taxi, nearly falling on her face in her rush to the house. Robby scurried around to her side to help her gain her balance.
My heart jumped into my throat. But only for a second. And then I sighed. “Wait. Her car was always here,” I reminded them, my voice breaking. “She didn’t take her car, remember?”
A groan escaped Mom’s throat. Her whole body slumped. Robby held her up.
I hoisted the suitcases from the trunk of the taxi. The driver helped me carry them to the front walk. I paid him and watched him walk back to his car. Mom and Robby were still halfway up the driveway.
“Oh.” I murmured my surprise when I saw someone move in the front window. Sunlight reflected off the window glass. The room was dark behind it.
But I saw someone move. Saw a face, just for an instant. A shoulder. A flash of white. Yes. A white top. And someone walking quickly, caught for a second in the golden glare of the window.
I tore up the front stoop. Fumbled in my bag for the key. Tugged the door open wide and leaped into the entryway.
“Marissa?” I shouted. “Marissa? Where are you?”
