Hobbes was gone when I woke up. My bedroom door was ajar and the smell of cooking batter wafted through the house.

'Mum...?' I clapped a hand over my mouth. The word had slipped out before I could stop it. Stupid. Of course it wasn't her. She was dead and buried. It obviously wasn't Ryo, and Dad could barely figure out how to make toast in the morning, let alone work the stove. So, who was making pancakes?

My muscles ached as I rolled out of bed. My stomach hurt the most, bruised fibres of muscle sending ripples of agony throughout my nervous system whenever I moved. My face was next – the bruise on my jaw still swollen and tender. It was probably purple by now, but I didn't bother to check a mirror as I headed for the stairs.

Hobbes had heard me stirring and waited for me at the bottom, tongue hanging out and tail wagging happily as I slowly made my way down to give him a scratch between the ears. 'Who's here, boy?'

He barked in response and bounded off. Curious, I followed him.

For a moment, I thought I was hallucinating. There was a woman in my kitchen. My mother's old pink floral apron was wrapped around her, protecting her red turtleneck and worn grey jeans from being made into a mess, and her curly brown hair was knotted high into a bun. For the second time today, I almost said 'Mum' – but this time I caught myself.

Swallowing, I corrected my brain and got my mouth to say the right name. 'Aunt Linda?' I asked.

She raised her hand in greeting, attention focused on her frypan. 'Plates,' she said, sticking out a hand.

'Uh – '

'Morning, Evelyn,' said someone else. Theodore Doukas, Aunt Linda's twenty-year-old son, stuck his head out from behind the door of one of the island counter's cupboards. He winced when he saw my face. 'Ouch. Who'd you get in a fight with?'

'Um... yeah.' I suddenly wished I'd taken the time to get dressed. Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, 'Hi?'

'Plates,' interrupted Aunt Linda, waving her hand.

Theo sighed. 'Yes, Mum, I know. This isn't our house though.' He gave me a sheepish look. 'Plates?'

'Behind you, upper cupboard on your right.'

'Ta.'

Moving back towards his mother, Theo extracted the plates and put them on the counter with a clatter that made me grimace. Brow furrowed in concentration, Aunt Linda unloaded the pan full of steaming hot pikelets onto the first two. Without a word, she doused them in fresh lemon juice and loaded each one with a small pile of sugar.

Finally, she looked at me. Her dark brown eyes locked onto my face, but unlike Theo's, her expression refused to give away her thoughts.

Frightening.

'Here,' she said, offering me the plate.

'Thanks...'

I took it from her and frowned, unsure of her intent.

She raised her brow. 'Are you going to eat it standing up? Sit. Eat.' With that, she set about pouring the next round of batter.

Theo also raised a brow – at her, not at me – but didn't say anything. He knew better than that. Picking up his own plate, he gestured for me to follow. With Hobbes at my heels, we left the open kitchen. But instead of sitting at the dining table, Theo rounded the corner into the living room to take a seat in Ryo's usual spot on the sofa instead. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he gestured for me to sit.

Hobbes let out a growl.

I agreed. What happened to 'this isn't our house though'?

As I opened my mouth to say something, Aunt Linda shouted from the other room, 'Feet down, Theodore!'

He hastily obeyed.

Psychic.

'Is this how you normally eat breakfast?' I asked, seating myself down onto the cushion at the other end. Hobbes hopped up onto the space between us and I patted his head.

'Sometimes. It makes for a nice change of pace.' Theo stared down at his plate, apparently realising that he'd forgotten to get cutlery. He picked up a pikelet, rolled it up, and shoved half of it into his mouth. 'Dad hayffs it becawff it geffs into the carpwet.'

Watching sugar granules tumble from his hands and mouth and land on the upholstery, I could understand why. I'd have to vacuum the couch when we were done. Nevertheless, I didn't have cutlery either and didn't quite fancy going back to the kitchen and being alone with Aunt Linda. Rolling up my miniature pancakes, I followed suit. Hobbes was quick to clean up after me.

The silence that followed was uncomfortable. We weren't that close in age, so I didn't know Theo all that well. Aunt Linda didn't exactly live nearby either, so he'd gone to a different school. The only times I ever saw him were at events like Aunt Linda's birthday and her annual Christmas party. On the plus side, the first time I'd met him was when I was too little to understand what my visions meant, so he didn't know that I was a freak.

Aunt Linda entered the room, holding her own plate. She looked down at the crumbs on the couch and sighed. 'His idea, right?' she said.

'Yeah. It's okay, I don't mind.'

She gave Theo a pointed look – to which he responded by staring directly back at her and cramming another pikelet into his mouth – and took a seat in one of the armchairs. Folding one of her own pikelets in half, she ate it and didn't say anything else.

Weird.

I stared at her as she ate, waiting for the lecture that I knew would inevitably come.

She caught my eye. 'What?' she asked, after she'd swallowed.

'You're not going to say anything?' I asked.

'No.'

'Why not?'

She sighed. 'Do I need to? You already know what I'm going to say.'

I couldn't disagree with that.

Aunt Linda scratched her head. 'You've been through enough.' Her eyes wandered upwards as she added, 'I'm just glad that you're alright.'

My eyes instantly watered, and I saw hers moisten a little too.

Ah, shit. I hadn't been expecting that.

Theo looked between us as he crammed another pikelet into his mouth. 'Did somefing haffen?'

'None of your business,' said Aunt Linda with a sniff. Clearing her throat, she picked up another pikelet. 'Turn on the news, why don't you?'

'O-kay.' Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, Theo did as asked and flipped through the morning shows and kids cartoons to the local news. A woman stood outside a tape barricade in front of a police-occupied park.

' – man found comatose at Hughesvale Park late last night has now been identified as twenty-one-year-old Andrew Riker.'

The camera had cut to the front of a house, and – different as it was in daylight, I still recognised the scene.

Aunt Linda froze. Her eyes darted towards me. 'Change the channel – '

'No, don't.'

Aunt Linda hesitated. 'Evelyn – '

I shot Theo a glare. 'Leave it on.'

He held his hands up in surrender and the room fell into silence as the segment went on.

' – pursued by police for the alleged murder of his father, Robert 'Bobby' Riker, as well as the stabbing of a young man, aged seventeen, and the alleged assault of two young women, also seventeen, who were witnesses to the shocking and disturbing scene.'

The shot changed to a feed of Greg Leganne from last night – presumably not long before he'd turned up at the hospital to interview me. He looked like he'd rather be doing anything other than giving a speech in front of a camera.

'"We don't know why he did it, and as it is, we won't be given the opportunity to ask him why. At the moment, Andrew Riker is in care and doctors are investigating his condition. All I can say, right now, is that there are no obvious signs of injury or trauma that may have caused his condition."'

The reporter's voice over returned. 'Witnesses have stated that Riker was approached by a young man wearing a black hoodie in an encounter so disturbing, that this young man ran from the scene out of fear for his life.' A young guy with a shaved head, wearing a red and yellow university letterman jacket took up the screen. '"It was crazy, man. He like, grabbed the guy by the face, then all of a sudden the dude in the jacket was screaming and flailing – then he dropped to the ground. He looked like he was dead, so I got the hell out of there – "

'But not before he was able to capture an image of the suspect,' the reporter interrupted, as the interview was cut and replaced by the grainy photograph of the boy in the black hoodie that Edri had shown to me last night. 'The suspect is presumed to be in his late teens or early twenties, with dark hair, blue eyes, and was last seen in Hughesvale Park wearing a black, unmarked hoodie, black jeans and a pair of white sneakers. He is currently being searched for by police.

'Witnesses to the incident, or anyone with information, should call Crime Stoppers on – '

The voice tuned out as I stared at the screen. The boy's blue eyes stared back at me. The feeling of wrongness that I'd had last night still niggled at me. God, he looked so familiar, but something about his face just seemed off –

'And that's enough of that.' Taking matters into her own hands, Aunt Linda got up, walked in front of the and snatched the remote from her son. She turned the TV off, put her hands on her hips and turned towards me, 'Once you've finished your pancakes, I want you back upstairs resting. Now, I've got an urgent issue to attend to at work today, but Theodore has the day off so he's going to stay here.'

'I am?' asked Theo, the last of his pikelets in his mouth.

'Yes,' said Aunt Linda. 'Why do you think I asked you to come?'

'Uh, all you said this morning was that you were getting pancakes. I didn't realise you meant at the White house.'

'Whatever.' Aunt Linda waved her hand in dismissal. 'The details don't matter. You're still staying.' She scooped our empty plates up with her own. 'I'll wash these and I want you' – she pointed a finger at me – 'in your bed by the time I'm gone.'

Leaving no room for argument, she headed for the kitchen.

Theo and I exchanged looks.

He scratched his chin. 'So, uh, I have a lunch date scheduled and my girlfriend will kill me if I stand her up. You going to be okay if I leave you by yourself for a few hours?'

'That depends, can you drop me off at school?'

'You're going to go to school with your face looking like that?'

'I'll be fine.'

I winced, my bruised abdomen protesting as I got to my feet. Theo's face turned cynical.

'Okay, I'll be mostly fine. But if you take me to school, I won't tell your mum that you ditched me for a date. What time does she finish work usually?'

'Five, and if we're not back here by then, she'll kill us both. You're lucky you don't have to deal with any parents.'

Yeah, I wasn't going to comment on that. Instead, I held out a hand. 'I'll make sure that I'm back in time. Deal?'

'Deal.'

Aunt Linda's voice called out from the kitchen. 'You two better not be conspiring over there!'

'She really is psychic...' I muttered.

Theo groaned and put his feet back up on the coffee table. 'Tell me about it...'

* * *

Theo's girlfriend seemed a good deal more responsible than he did. A clean cut, bespectacled brunette, she gasped in horror at my multi-coloured face and fussed over me for a good while, then lectured Theo on his (lack of) duty of care. Theo just shrugged it off, got behind the wheel of her car and told us both to get in so that he and Chantel wouldn't be late to their movie.

They dropped me off at school just as the lunch bell rang. Pretending not to notice the lingering stare that old-lady Agnes from Reception gave me, I signed into the late arrivals book. I definitely looked like a mess. My wiry waves were an unbrushed, tangled mess, my jaw was a mix of red and purple-blue, and I still had a sling keeping my cast-encased left wrist elevated by my neck. If she didn't know about my family situation, I wouldn't have been surprised if she called Child Protection to report abuse.

Hopefully she wouldn't call to report neglect.

I thanked her and left the lobby, heading down the hall to the area where my year level's lockers were kept. The familiar buzz of laughter and chatter filled my ears as students streamed out of class and rushed to put away their books.

Right, so I'd gotten myself to school. Now what? My jaw clenched. What could I do?

I pulled my phone out of my skirt pocket, flicking across the cracked screen until I reached my call list.

Unknown number.

My lips pursed. Something had been up with Gwen when she'd called me at the hospital. I mean, I'd always known she was weird – nice, but weird – but I'd never seen or heard her act like a cat drunk on catnip before. It was almost as if she'd been...

A shiver went through me and my right hand felt cold. I shook it out, and the sensation went away. It was better if that word went unsaid – even if it was just in my head.

At any rate, her dad was in charge of the Andrew case and a bit more loose-lipped than I had initially thought. Chances were that she knew something that the news didn't.

Yes. Gwen was my next goal.

I made my way through the human sea, ignoring the funny looks that were being sent my way. For the most part, the tide parted for me, the people in front of me taking a step back when they caught sight of my face. I bit the inside of my cheek. Had rumours started circulating already? Did people know that I was one of the girls on the news? Did they all know that Ryo had been stabbed protecting me?

'Hey, Evelyn.'

A guy stepped directly in front of me, hand outstretched to tap me on the shoulder. I took an instinctive step back, and he missed. Frowning, he looked down at me. Then his eyes widened and his jaw went slack. 'Oh shit, what happened to your face?'

I vaguely recognised him as one of Ryo's friends – the not-quite ginger that had a perpetual man-bun and a shower of stubble on his face. I couldn't remember his name, and frankly, at that moment, I didn't care.

'Jesus, what happened?' He moved to touch my bruise, and I took another step back. His blue eyes narrowed. 'Has that got anything to do with why Ryo isn't here?'

'Sorry, I'm in a hurry.'

I stepped around him and kept going.

Each time we'd met, Gwen had been the one to come to me. I wasn't exactly hard to find if you knew where the pavilion was, but it was highly unlikely that she'd be there since I'd missed most of school. I, on the other hand, didn't know Gwen well enough to say who she'd be hanging out with, or where to find her. Gwen's social network was wide. She was a social chameleon, capable of integrating into any group she wanted – a skill I could never hope to achieve.

With any luck, I would've been able to catch her at our lockers, but by the time I reached the second floor of the senior wing, most of the students were gone – ushered into the courtyards and the cafeteria by the teachers assigned to keep us out of the halls. Back downstairs I went, headed for the area of the school I hated visiting most.

In the cafeteria, the usual buzz of noise is always amplified into a roar. Students yelling and throwing things at each other, raucous laughter over stupid jokes, the lunch ladies and students placing orders shouting to be heard over the din, while the two teachers unfortunate to be placed on duty walked between tables and supervised the queue, struggling to maintain some semblence of order.

The points and whispers were inevitable, but I did my best to ignore them and focused on my goal.

Gwen's table was surprisingly easy to find – a bubble of calm amongst the chaos. She sat with her profile towards me, her usual smile on her face as she talked to a group of girls about some matter or other. I approached, and like a parliament of owls interrupted, their heads all turned towards me. From the look in their eyes you'd think I was some kind of rodent.

'Gross,' said one of the girls in the middle – Isa Something. 'What do you want?'

A friend beside her frowned and elbowed the next girl over. 'Isn't that the chick who went crazy in Year 7 and...?'

'Yeah, don't think about it.'

Gwen shot them all a look, and they quickly shut their mouths. She smiled up at me, the corners of her eyes crinkling. 'What's up, Evelyn?' she asked.

'I need to talk to you.'

She blinked. 'What about?'

I bit my lip. Was I supposed to just come out and say it? My eyes darted around the table, noting every mutter and greasy look the rest of them were giving me. No, blurting my questions outright was a terrible idea.

I hesitated and opted for something vague. 'Um, I'd really appreciate it if you'd come with me for a sec.'

Isa pursed her lips. 'Don't do it, Gwen. You know what she's like. She's a fre—'

Gwen threw her another look. 'Isa, we've talked about this before.'

The glare the other girl gave her in return could have killed. Nevertheless Isa, pursed her lips.

The obvious victor, Gwen smiled at me. 'I can spare a few minutes.' She looked at her friends. 'I'll be back in a bit.'

'Don't die, Gwen,' whispered someone.

'Shut up, Haley,' hissed someone else. 'You'll jinx her.'

Gwen looked at Isa, clearly expecting a response.

'Sure,' said Isa. 'Go talk to the freak. That's what you do best after all.'

Gwen grinned and vacated her chair. 'I'm glad we understand each other.'

* * *

'Sorry about them,' said Gwen, leading the way out of the cafeteria and into the central courtyard. 'They're just a little... superstitious.' Finding an unoccupied corner near one of the planters, she turned towards me with her ever-present smile. 'How can I help?'

I looked around, double-checking that no one else was in the earshot. How was I going to approach this?

I swallowed. 'Uh, I just want to see if you were feeling okay.'

Her head tilted. 'How I'm feel—? Oh.' Gwen cleared her throat. 'Right. Yes. I'm feeling much better now, thank you.'

'Well... you do sound more like yourself. You sounded kind of high last night – ' I paused. That sounded like I was accusing her of doing drugs. ' – I mean, not high. You just sounded kind of... out of it, or... something...'

She blinked. 'Last night?'

'Yes. The phone call?'

'What phone call?'

We stared at each other.

'You called me last night,' I said.

'No, I didn't.' She hesitated. 'Forgive me if this is rude, but are you okay? I don't mean to be tactless, but your face looks very much not okay. What happened?'

What happened? There was a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. 'Didn't your dad tell you?'

'No, I haven't spoken to him all week. My brother and I were at our mum's place. Why would he tell me?' She frowned. 'Or rather, what should he have told me? Was it related to a case?'

My hands were shaking. There was a hollow feeling in my chest. 'He didn't tell you what happened to Ai?'

'Ai? The transfer student?'

'Yes, her.' My voice was shaky. We'd been talking about Ai everyday. Why did Gwen look so confused?

'Dad doesn't talk about on-going cases. Did something happen to her?'

'Andrew.' My breath hitched as I forced out his name.

'Andrew?' Gwen's brow furrowed. 'Who's Andrew?'

I was on the verge of hyperventilating. My heartbeat was thudding loudly in my ears. I gripped the side of my skirt in a futile attempt to calm myself down and stop the shaking. 'Andrew. The guy from the news. Ai's boyfriend. The guy you looked into. The guy with the bad reputation - who beat up a bunch of women. The guy we've been talking about for the last three days!' My voice cracked, becoming louder and more frantic with each and every word.

Gwen stared at me, eyes wide with bewilderment. 'Evelyn... I – I haven't been at school since Monday. I haven't seen you or Ai since we showed her around town.'

'Liar! You met me at the pavilion on Tuesday! You invited yourself over to my house!'

'What pavilion?' Gwen's jaw clenched, exasperation flashing across her features. 'Evelyn, I swear to God, I have no idea where you live.'

'You were there! You said you'd heard that my dad was away and because I'd broken my wrist, you made some inedible Welsh stew.'

Gwen opened her mouth to retort, then blinked and closed it. 'Well, that does sound like something I would do.' Her eyes narrowed at my cast. 'How did that happen by the way?'

It was a struggle to breathe. 'You know how.'

Gwen sighed. 'I wouldn't ask if I did.' Her brow furrowed and her bottom lip protruded as she studied my face. 'How do I prove this to you?' she muttered. She pushed up her glasses and tapped her nose with a finger as she thought. After a moment, she pulled out her phone and began to dial.

'Who are you calling?' I asked.

'My dad.' The line rang twice, then connected. She put it on speaker.

'Gwen?' The familiar rumble of Mr Leganne's voice came loud and clear through the phone.

She looked at me and put a finger to her lips before answering. 'Hi Dad! Just needed to talk to you real quick.'

'Are you alright? Don't tell me there was a complication with Gwaine's—'

She cleared her throat loudly. 'No, Gwaine's fine. I'm at school. Everyone's feeling a lot better. Just wanted to ask if you knew about an incident involving a girl called Ai Miyakawa.'

There was a pause. 'You know I can't talk about on-going investigations, Gwen.'

'So something did happen to her. Did it involve a guy called...' She frowned, trying to remember the name. '...Andrew?'

Another lengthy pause. 'Why are you asking when you've clearly been watching the news?'

'I haven't, but this conversation has been very helpful. Thanks, Dad! See you on Sunday.'

'Right... See ya, kid.'

The line went dead.

Contrary to her cheerful phone voice, Gwen's expression was grim. 'Do you believe me now?' she asked.

I... I didn't know.

My chest heaved as I hyperventilated. I could feel the blood draining from my face. White noise was buzzing in my ears. My vision tunnelled, like the world was fading away. If Gwen hadn't been at school these last few days, then who the hell had I been talking to? Who had I let into my house? Who was that voice on the –

Voice.

The Voice.

'Save her.'

'You saved him. You saved Ai. '

The one that had possessed me.

Had it been watching me? Stalking me? Since when?

'You're almost out of the hospital, right?'

No... that wasn't the first time.

'You saved that little boy down at the train station too.'

Since the train incident on Monday.

And it hadn't just been stalking me...

'I was just wondering if it would be okay for me to come over to your place!'

Gwen. The expression on her face – brow furrowed, bottom lip protruding – her imposter had mimicked it perfectly.

But who...? Why – ? Wait. Train station...

'Did you see this person at all tonight?'

The boy in the black hoodie. I knew who he was.

'Are you alright?'

He was at the train station on the day that I saved that kid.

'Where did he go?'

'Where did who go?'

He was there the first time the Voice had whispered in my ear.

'Save them.'

He was the one who had picked me up off my feet when the little boy and I had collided.

'You're welcome!'

He was the one that had been glaring at me when I changed Fate and the kid had made it out alive – with blue and brown mismatched eyes.

That was why Edri's photograph had looked wrong.

Everything about him was wrong.

'Evelyn?' said Gwen's voice. She started towards me – and stopped, protecting her face from grit and leaves as a gust of ice-cold wind blew through the courtyard.

I ran.

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