The city faded behind them.Houses thinned out.Trees grew taller and more plentiful.The road narrowed until it was little more than a narrow strip of asphalt winding through the country.
"Here's fine," she said softly.
The driver slowed to a stop."You sure?There's nothing out here."
"I'm meeting someone," she lied.
Though in her heart she was telling the truth, even if nobody would believe her, she was looking for a tear in reality, solely to return to Finn.
She refused to believe he wanted her gone.He'd pushed her through the rift, but she was young then, only sixteen.Her age probably freaked him out, or he thought she needed more supervision than she did.But now she was no longer a child.
She needed to see him again.She'd had her whole life to think about what happened.The universe had shown her another dimension, put a man who was the opposite of everything she was in front of her, and made her feel she belonged with him.Nothing and nobody could change her mind.
The driver nodded, unconvinced but polite."Be safe."
She stepped out, the door clicking shut behind her.The driver drove off, leaving her alone in the quiet.Finally, she could breathe.
Keeping to the side of the road, she walked with her bag thrown over her shoulder.This time, she came prepared.She'd had time to figure out what happened the other times she left this dimension for another.
Looking back, she could recognize the differences.The other times she'd visited, she was too caught up in being with Finn to realize he lived differently from her.And while Everstill was odd, scary, and mysterious, she belonged there.That was a feeling she never had in any of the foster homes or when living on her own.
The wind blew the tall grass, and the long stretch of road disappeared into the distance.
She adjusted the strap of her bag, making sure it was zipped.Inside were the things that mattered.If she got lucky and found her way to Finn, she'd be prepared.
She lifted her head, focusing on the distance, and continued to walk at a steady pace.Thanks to all the years of searching, she could walk for miles without getting tired.
Inhaling deeply, she tried to block out all the external problems—next week's work schedule, her rent due Monday, and the dread of failing to get to Finn.Tonight would suck if she had to return to her apartment and her miserable existence.
The air smelled like rain and earth.The sky was a muted gray, heavy with clouds.Excitement filled her, and she inhaled deeply.The weather was perfect for traveling through the veil.
She scanned the road ahead, looking for anything that would tell her she was on the right path.At ten years old, she was too young to focus on the bigger picture, but she remembered the feeling of stepping through the rift.It was like having all her worries and sadness washed away from her soul.At sixteen, she recalled every detail.It was as if her tormented soul settled the moment she walked down the street to Finn.
Each day, writing down things she was afraid of forgetting, like how the trees leaned with the wind and the sky darkened.There was a moment when all her breath left her body, and it was like a big hand came down and lifted her off her feet, twirled her until she was dizzy, and then set her down in a new town.
She'd searched for Everstill online, pored over old maps for days, and bought atlases from three different gas stations.There was no town by that name, incorporated or unincorporated, in existence.
But she never asked other people whether they had heard of the town or had experienced traveling through the rift the way she had.Once, in high school, she'd mentioned the possibility of a different plane to her science teacher after class, and Mr.Dorchett gave her a hundred reasons why that wasn't possible.When she argued that he was wrong, he gave her a D on her final.
She always understood that no one would believe her and that if she spoke of her experience, she'd get labeled in the foster care system as having mental health problems or, worse, that she was a liar.
Determined to keep going, she picked up her pace.
All she needed was a shimmer, a shift, or a wrongness in the air to show her the way.She'd learned to recognize the signs.She'd walked hundreds of roads.Some days, she traveled until her legs ached.She'd worn through more sneakers than she could count.Some days, she took Ubers to places she'd never been, hoping the veil would feel her coming.
Both times she'd slipped through, it had been different places.
Which meant it could be anywhere.
She just had to find it.
She walked faster, her heart pounding with a familiar mix of hope and fear.She'd been disappointed so many times, yet even that hadn't killed her desire to get back to Finn.She couldn't stop.Not now.Not ever.
After all the foster parents who gave up on her and sent her to a different home, she should be used to people pushing her away.But she refused to believe Finn pushed her through the veil because he didn't want her.
She wanted to talk to him and find out for herself.Maybe she was wrong, but she'd take the chance that she was right.
Finn.She inhaled deeply.He'd held her in the wind and pushed her to safety even when it broke him.She'd seen the look in his eyes.He was tormented.Whether that was because he pushed her away or because of the life he led, she wanted to know more about him.
