That’s when I saw the driver.

  Chase’s eyes locked with mine, his mouth set in a grim line. What the hell? Was he trying to run me down? I opened my mouth to yell, but the engine growled, and Chase sped away.

  I stared after his car. He was so rude. And possibly homicidal. And apparently well enough to drive around even though he hadn’t been in school all week. I muttered a curse into the night and stomped all the way home.

  Most of my steam had evaporated by the time I arrived, my anxiousness clouding the infuriating moment with Chase. Dad’s car was already in the driveway. I ran up the porch steps and threw open the door. The living room was dark, but the kitchen lights were on. I dropped my backpack on the floor and followed the light.

  I stopped just outside the doorway, watching them. Dad stirred something in a pan, a rare grin on his face, while Mara sat at the table, staring down at her hands. She wore her favorite red top and jeans, which were such a departure from the hospital gown I’d grown so accustomed to that I almost didn’t recognize her. Her hair was pulled back in a clip, hiding her scar, and her arm was free of its cast. Except for the vacant look in her eyes, she appeared almost normal.

  I bit my lip and wandered over to the table, not brave enough to sit down just yet. I rubbed my hands on my jeans, then walked over to the kitchen counter to pick up the salad bowl.

  “You’re home.” Dad brought the serving dish to the table and set it down. “Just in time.”

  I followed him to the table and set down the bowl. My fingers fiddled with the back of my chair.

  “You look great, Mara.” I offered a smile, but she only glanced at me for a millisecond. It was more than she’d given me any of the times I’d visited her since she’d first awakened, and only slightly less disheartening than the cold stare that haunted my dreams. Dad sat down with a contented sigh and gestured for me to take a seat.

  I kept my eyes on Mara as I slipped into my chair. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something felt off. The more I watched her, the more I became aware of how slowly she was moving. Like she was sleepwalking. Like she wasn’t really there. If she’d just make a sarcastic remark or roll her eyes at me like she usually did, I’d know everything was all right. Was that really Mara in there, behind those vacant eyes? Or was I just imagining things? I was probably being dumb, but I couldn’t get over the nagging feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.

  I forced myself to look away, taking a pork chop from the serving dish and scooping some vegetables onto my plate.

  “The three of us sitting together for dinner.” Dad looked at each of us, smiling and shaking his head. “It’s … nice.”

  I glanced at Mara. Her mouth formed a small smile for him, but then the smile disappeared and her attention dropped back to her hands.

  “Okay, let’s eat.” Dad piled food onto Mara’s plate.

  I picked up my fork, moving the baby carrots around on my plate while stealing glances at Mara. “I bet you’re glad to have your own bed back, huh?”

  Mara chewed a small morsel and stared at her glass of water.

  “I’m taking tomorrow off,” Dad announced. “But next week, I’ve got a bunch of meetings, and I’ll need to be there. I’ll try not to work too late, though. Think you girls will be okay?”

  I nodded, still watching Mara.

  “Emily’s been asking about you,” I said, hoping to get a real response from her. “She’s looking forward to you coming back to school.”

  Mara’s gaze shifted from her water glass to something through it, something neither of us could see. Like a memory.

  “We’ll see how things go.” Dad waved his fork in the air. “The doctors said coma patients usually have to go through physical therapy because their muscles have atrophied, but somehow, Mara’s muscles are fine, her mobility’s perfect!” Dad beamed at Mara. “The doctors say it’s amazing. But, you know you can stay home as long as you want. No need to rush things.”

  Mara nodded.

  The rest of dinner passed quietly, with my father in a good mood and Mara in a state of apathy. I managed to down a few bites of food to appease Dad, then helped clear the table while Mara sipped her water.

  Dad checked to make sure Mara wasn’t looking, then gestured for me to follow him into the hall.

  “Yeah?”

  “I had a talk with a doctor from the hospital. A psychiatrist.”

  Oh. I guessed Dr. Klein had figured out I never passed her message along. “Okay …” I said, pretending I didn’t know what this was about.

  “I’m going in tomorrow evening to talk to her. She wants to schedule some sessions with Mara, which I can understand. But, well, she also wants to see you.”

  I shook my head. “No, please. Don’t make me go, Dad. I don’t want to talk to a shrink.”

  He put his hands on my shoulders. He must have seen in my eyes how much I meant it. After what happened to Mom, he of all people had to understand my resistance to mental-health professionals.

  “I know you don’t want to, but I think it’s a good idea. Now, I can stall her for a while, tell her you’re busy with school, so you can come to terms with seeing her. But you’ll have to go in and talk to her eventually.”

  “Dad, I can’t.” What if I said something, the wrong thing, and they locked me up like they did Mom?

  “You can, Zadie. You have nothing to be afraid of. She’s just going to help you straighten out how you’re feeling.”

  Could she really? Would she be able to tell me why I felt my sister was not acting like herself? Would she be able to confirm that I didn’t pull off some spell to get Mara out of her coma and I really had nothing to be worried about?

  I was sure I was making an unpleasant face, because he tried to lighten the mood by tweaking my nose.

  “We can talk about it another time,” he said. “Why don’t you keep your sister company and get ready for bed. I’ll be up in a while to say goodnight.”

  I let out a small sigh and nodded. “Okay.”

  Dad smiled, then his expression changed to one of confusion. “Oh, something weird happened when I picked Mara up.”

  Weirder than Mara acting like a zombie? “What happened?”

  He rubbed his chin. “You know that old woman in town people call a witch?”

  I swallowed. “Heard of her. Why?”

  “She was at the hospital, standing outside Mara’s room and watching her sleep. I don’t know, maybe she was there visiting someone and then recognized Mara from the newspaper. But when I said hello, she gave me the strangest look. Like I’d stolen something from her or called her a bad name or something. Then she just walked away.”

  A chill washed over me. “Yeah, that’s weird.”

  “Really weird. Or maybe she was just lost. I don’t know. It creeped me out. Maybe I just need more sleep.”

  I offered a laugh, hoping to lighten the situation. “We all need more sleep, Dad. Goodnight.”

  Mara was silent as we climbed the stairs. My footsteps seemed loud compared to hers. It was like her feet didn’t touch the steps. When she reached the one step that always creaked horribly, I waited for the noise. But it never came. I looked to make sure Mara didn’t somehow skip the step, but her foot was dead center. I swallowed before I continued up after her.

  At her door, I stood at the threshold, uncertain of what I should do. “Do you … need help changing?”

  She turned to look at me. “No. I’m fine.”

  They were the first words I’d heard her speak since the accident. Yet, it didn’t quite sound like Mara. Not the perky, optimistic Mara I knew, anyway. This Mara sounded beaten. Worn down. Emotionless.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let me know if you need anything. Good night.”

  She turned and walked to her dresser. I darted to my room so she wouldn’t see how freaked out I was. I threw myself onto my bed and covered my eyes with my arm. I knew it was too soon for Mara to be back to her old self, but her strange, withdrawn behavior still bothered me. The doctors released her, so she must have been fine. Why wouldn’t Mara talk to me? Was she mad at me? Was it because of the spell? Had I actually gotten her out of the coma?

  I sat up straight as something occurred to me. Maybe Mara had gotten herself out of the coma.

  I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs. It had been a long day. A long week. And I had school in the morning. Maybe sleep would help clear my mind and settle my nerves.

  I didn’t remember falling asleep, but I remembered the dream. Shadows and streams of blue light. Light that followed me down a dark tunnel. But whenever I turned around, the light vanished. Then the ground shook beneath my feet. I stopped, and an intense light swallowed the tunnel. I had to shield my eyes from it. With the intense brightness came a sharp pain in my chest, a pain so powerful it startled me from my dream.

  The phantom pain quickly disappeared. I opened my eyes to the darkness of my room. I wiped sweat from my brow and reached for my bedside light, but I froze before I could turn it on. In the darkness, Mara’s silhouette looked down on me. I swallowed back dryness as I stared into her face. I blinked, unable to tell if I was still dreaming or not. But when I focused, there she was, standing beside my bed in the dark. She stared at me with eyes that seemed to penetrate me, moonlight falling in white shards across her face.

  “Mara?” I whispered.

  She didn’t say a word. Why wasn’t she moving?

  “Mara?” I slowly pushed down my covers. Mara only stared. Was she even breathing?

  My heart pounded as I slid out of bed. Mara was only inches from the frame. God, Mara, why are you doing this? I maneuvered around her, afraid to make contact. I stood, keeping my eyes on her until we were face-to-face. Silence screamed in my ears. I reached for her shoulders, hesitating a moment. She didn’t react.

  “I think you’re sleepwalking,” I said, but she wasn’t the one I was trying to convince. I guided her back to her room. The house was silent except for the shuffling of my feet. Her room felt cold, and goose bumps covered my skin. Keep it together, Zadie. I steered her toward her bed and lifted the covers. She climbed in, facing away from me as she settled down. Slowly, I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. I turned to walk out, but then I thought I heard a whisper.

  “Mara?” My voice was almost inaudible. I took a step toward the bed and waited, holding my breath as I listened. No response. I leaned over slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of Mara’s face. The darkness was so complete, it was hard to tell if her eyes were open or closed. The closer I got, the more the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

  I backed away from her. Turned toward the door. It was crazy to be afraid of Mara. I knew that. And yet …

  The whisper again. A cold breeze of sound against my ear. Like Mara was right next to me. I whipped around, but Mara was tucked in bed, just as I’d left her. I counted in my head until my feet traveled across the cold floor and out of her room.

  Chapter Eight

  Naomi and I pulled up to Xavier’s Plaza just before seven. Dad was at his appointment with Dr. Klein, so Mara was alone in the house. She’d gone to bed early, and Dad said he wouldn’t get home too late, so I shouldn’t have felt strange leaving her alone. The truth was, part of me didn’t want to be alone in the house with Mara.

  I was grateful Dad didn’t have a problem with me going out. Of course, I only told him I’d be out with Naomi, and failed to mention there were boys involved.

  We spotted Danny and Gavin at the entrance of the plaza. Gavin’s hands were stuffed in the pockets of his black jeans, the chain from his pocket watch dangling as he shifted from one foot to the other. He wore a button-down shirt—black, of course—with the sleeves cuffed up to the elbows. I thought it was a sweet gesture that he wore something nicer than a concert t-shirt. Naomi checked her face in the rearview mirror, then winked at me. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this thing.”

  Danny spotted us first, nudging Gavin to make him turn in our direction. I couldn’t stop the ridiculous smile that spread across my face.

  “Well hello, boys.” Naomi sidled up to Danny. I was relieved when he offered her a pleasant smile. It was a start, anyway.

  “You look nice,” Gavin said to me.

  I blushed and mumbled a thank you.

  “I haven’t seen you all week,” he added. “You avoiding me?”

  Had he been looking for me? A tickle traveled up my neck. I fiddled with the hem of my blouse. “No, I wouldn’t do that.”

  He held the door open for me. “It’s great news about your sister.”

  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I walked inside. “Thank you.” I wondered for a moment if he was going to mention the spell or magic or witchcraft, but he only smiled at me. If he and Danny had only been playing along, I was more than willing to drop the subject.

  “We were thinking of hitting the batting cages first, if that’s all right with you two.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Sounds good. And later we have to get an order of sweet potato curly fries.”

  “With the sour cream dip? Yeah, they’re my favorite.”

  While Gavin paid for batting cage tokens, Danny grunted responses to Naomi’s steady commentary. I shook my head. It would take way more than that to make her give up.

  “I’ll go first,” Gavin said. I crinkled my nose at the helmet he handed me. Helmet-head was not a good look for me.

  He stepped inside the cage, and the rest of us waited our turn on a long blue bench that faced the cage. Gavin twirled the bat once and smiled at me. I gave him a thumbs-up to show my support. I’d never thought of baseball as elegant, but the way Gavin eased into a balanced stance before he pivoted swiftly into the ball convinced me there was beauty in the sport.

  After his time was up, he sauntered over to us and handed me the bat. Our fingers brushed. My breath hitched as our eyes met. The corners of his mouth went up. “Your turn.”

  “Well, I can’t do what you just did, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

  “You’ll do fine.”

  “You can do it, Zadie!” Naomi yelled from behind the chain link.

  I walked out to the marked area and lifted the bat. Gavin slipped a token into the machine, and I held my breath. The batting machine made a popping noise, and a ball sailed toward me. I swung. The ball flew past me. I could hear Gavin laughing behind me.

  “Are you making fun of me?” I said, missing the next ball that flew my way.

  “Well, maybe if you kept your eyes open when you tried to hit the ball, it would work out better.”

  I swung and missed again. “My eyes were open!”

  Gavin smiled and shook his head, entering the cage. I took a step back and let the next ball fly past without swinging the bat.

  “How about a batting lesson?” he asked.

  I stiffened a little as he moved to stand behind me and placed his hands on mine. As he raised the bat to what I could only assume was the proper angle, I told myself to loosen up a little. I took a deep breath. God, he smelled nice. My skin grew warm with his touch, and I had to force myself not to lean my head back onto his shoulder. It would have been so easy to just turn my head and nuzzle his neck with my nose. Another ball whizzed by and brought me back to the moment. He slid my hand a few inches up the bat. “Put this hand here. That gives you more control. And keep your eye on the ball.”

  This time when the ball rocketed toward us, he guided me forward, and swung the bat with me. I closed my eyes as the connection echoed with a pop. The noise made me giggle. I opened my eyes to look back at my new personal coach, but he propped the bat back up in my hands.

  “The next one’s coming.”

  Once again, we smacked the ball. Then he let go of me, and I felt as helpless and alone as a toddler on a tightrope.

  “Um, help?” The ball zipped by me.

  “Just do what I showed you. You can do it.”

  I held the bat up, but I didn’t swing. Not yet. Thoughts I hadn’t let myself think in a long time pushed to the surface. I had my doubts about being responsible for Mara’s return. But did I still have it in me to make things happen at all? What if I tested myself? If I could make frogs appear out of nowhere, I could make my bat connect with the ball. Besides, it wasn’t something wicked. What if I let myself, just this once? What could it hurt to try?

  I narrowed my eyes and imagined myself hitting the ball. I concentrated on what it felt like to have the bat make contact. I visualized the arc the ball would make after I hit it. A hum started in my veins, and I opened my eyes. It was like looking through a peephole in a door. Only the view through the peephole was the ball machine, and everything around the edges faded into black. The machine thunked and the ball whooshed, and I willed myself to swing. My body felt hot. I swore my bones were vibrating. Pop!

  Naomi whooped and cheered when I hit the ball. Gavin smiled at me, his fingers entwined in the fence. I bit back my fear of how I did what I just did, of what supernatural force I might have used, and returned his smile.

  “That was awesome,” Gavin said as I pulled off my helmet and walked toward him. “But you’ve got like three or four balls left.”

  “That’s okay. I’d like to end on a high note.” The truth was I needed to sit down and get over the feeling of needing to pass out. I had just willfully used my power … and it worked. The implications of what this could mean made my head swirl. I thought about Mara. If it really was my powers that had brought her back, then that was a good thing, and I should be glad. No matter how freaked out I was by the situation.

  I sat next to Gavin on the bench. Sometime while Danny and Naomi took their turns, his leg touched mine. I glanced at him, and he returned my gaze. To hide the blush that attacked my cheeks, I let my hair fall like a curtain between us. I so wasn’t cut out for flirting.

  Clearing my throat, I focused on my friend. Danny didn’t help her the way that Gavin helped me, but she did pretty well anyway, hitting three balls—even if they did soar sideways into the chain link fence.