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“She always seems a million miles away,” Liam said. “And Dr. Kapoor is more, like,intenselypresent. Like she redirects gravity with the sheer force of her personality.”
“And you really think she might be one of those echoes,” I said. “But in the video with Ashford, it didn’t seem like she was in on any of it.”
“So she was lying. Or she didn’t know.”
“An echo is a weaker version of the original. Fading,” I said. “Dr. Kapoor doesn’t seem like a pale imitation of anyone.”
“I suppose.”
“You almost sound disappointed.”
“I’m trying to decide which is worse—my mum being replaced by an evil twin, or my real mum covering up what’s going on here.” He nodded toward the window. “The mist is gone.”
I sat up, disentangling myself from him, and saw that he was right, though the sky was slate-gray, thick clouds dimming the light. “I should probably go.”
“Knowing Dr. Kapoor, she’s not going to let a few disappearances get in the way of a full day’s work,” Liam said.
“I’d almost forgotten I’m doing an internship,” I said.
“Well, you haven’t actually managed a full day’s work without being set upon by the supernatural,” Liam pointed out. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your hair’s all mussed,” he said.
I felt along my braid. It had come loose, snarling out from the careful plaiting. I made a face and combed it out, letting the hair spill in waves over my shoulders.
“You look quite wild,” Liam said. “Like a mermaid or something.”
“The kind that’s friends with lobsters?”
“The kind that lures ships onto the rocks, maybe,” Liam said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Oh, you should,” he assured me. He kissed me lightly, and somehow this time it was a bit awkward. Like we needed to practice saying goodbye. “Be safe.”
“I can promise careful. I can’t promise safe.”
“Let’s be honest. We’re talking about you. You can’t promise careful either,” he said. “I should walk you back.”
“And then you walk home on your own, and I worry about you,” I said. “Vicious cycle.”
“You aren’t the worrying sort like I am,” Liam said. It was true, and he smiled a little to show that he didn’t think that was a bad thing, exactly. I cared what happened to him, but I didn’t fret the same way.
“Fine,” I agreed. “My white knight.”
“Just give me a sec to find socks,” he said, looking dubiously at his luggage. I snorted and stepped out into the hall. I padded toward the front door and had just reached the middle of thehallway when Dr. Kapoor appeared, stepping out from the kitchen. She saw me and froze.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she snapped. I blinked, unsure what I’d done to earn quite so pointed a response. “I told you not to let anyone see you right now. You—” She stopped. Looked at me again, more focused this time. My stomach dropped.
Liam emerged. “Found ’em,” he declared, waving his socks aloft. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were home. I— What’s wrong?”
“You thought I was her,” I said wonderingly. With my hair a mess, with dark hollows around my eyes from lack of sleep and crying—I might have mistaken myself as well.
Liam’s gaze switched swiftly between the two of us. It would have been comical if the moment hadn’t been so tense.
“You know about—?” Dr. Kapoor whispered, but she didn’t finish. Didn’t want to be the first to say it outright, I guess, in case she was wrong.
“The girl that looks like me,” I said.
“Then it is true,” Liam said. He sounded sick. “You’re... you’re one of them.”
