Page 79 of Make Me Dream of You

I sit up, having not even heard Bex walk in. She’s changed into sweats, her eyes red and puffy from almost as little sleep as me.

“She’s in the shower.”

“Okay. Thanks for bringing her up here. You can go now. I’m going to stay with her.”

“I don’t mind staying with her.”

Bex scoffs. “You don’t need to, I’m here. I’m her sister.”

I unfurl my fists and exhale slowly. I already had to endure not being able to be next to her for the last eight hours. I left her side in the lake. This is my fault. I’m not leaving her again. “I said I’d do it,” I say through my teeth, trying not to growl.

“You’re being weird. Go away.”

“Are you guys fighting?” Livvy comes out of the bathroom in a white robe, drying her hair with a towel.

“No,” we say simultaneously.

“I’m going to stay in here with you,” Bex says, grinning triumphantly then sticking her tongue out at me when Livvy’s not looking.

“Is that necessary? I really feel okay. I think I’m just going to read, maybe take a nap.”

“They said we need to keep an eye on you, and I’m your big sister. I’m staying.”

My knuckles ache, my hands balled up at my sides, fingernails digging into my palms.

“Oh, okay.”

“A nap sounds perfect.” Bex pulls the covers back and gets in the bed. “I hardly slept. You should go sleep, too,” she says to me. “You look awful.”

“Thanks,” I deadpan.

“Oh! Should we check for ET under the bed first?” Bex asks Livvy.

Livvy tosses the towel over a chair. “Haha. No, we don’t need to check for ET under the bed.” She shifts her eyes. “He’s much more likely to be in the closet, anyway.”

“ET?” I twist my face, trying to follow the conversation.

“Yeah,” Bex laughs. “Livvy used to be terrified of ET when she was little.”

“The little alien from the movie?”

Livvy nods, her cheeks a deep pink. “Shut up, Bex.”

“It was cute,” Bex insists.

ET? I have the strangest sense of déjà vu as soon as she mentions it. Like, I’ve had this exact conversation before, only with someone else.

And then it hits me. I have.

I stride to the door. “I’ll just be in the room next door. Let me know if you need anything.” I make eye contact with Livvy before I leave, hand on the knob. “Anything. I mean it.”

I can’t shake the feeling nagging at me when I get into my room.

There’s no way.

No fucking way.

It’s just a coincidence that Angel told me she used to be afraid of ET as a kid. That’s probably a pretty common and not at all unusual thing. Right? Right.

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