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didn’t understand it. The only thing I could really hope for now was that I would never see him again. I shuddered at the thought even though I had always wished something magical would to happen to me.
    I hadn’t realized as a child how frightening being swept off my feet by a fairy prince would be in real life. What would that man have done with me if I had stopped the car? He hadn’t exactly been the prince charming I had conjured up as a kid, either. He was a far sight larger and an eternity scarier.
    I just needed to keep telling myself that none of this was true; none of this was real. The logical part of my mind sure thought that. Cassie was right. Aunt Grace was probably playing a trick on me.
    My feet flew over the pavement, making short work of campus. I should have been recuperating from our trip, but I couldn’t rest with so many unknowns parading through my brain.
    I slowed, my lungs needing more air than I could currently give them at the pace I had set. My mono-vision blurred outward. Enormous pine trees surrounded the narrow path I stood on. Dizziness overwhelmed me when I looked up at the sprawling branches. What the heck? No buildings were in sight.
    How had I gotten into the woods? The place looked more like the Redwood Forest than the Nature Area of campus. This was just great. It probably wasn’t the best idea for me to be out here alone.
    Okay. No need to panic. The rush of water thundered somewhere near me. If I followed the river, I could find my way back to my dorm. I headed toward the sound, kicking myself for not paying attention to where I was going.
    A fat drop of rain pelted my cheek and slid down my face. A couple more splattered on my scalp. What was going on? The sky had been clear moments before. I gaped at the voluminous clouds rolling toward me. They were the deep, dark gray of a turbulent, summer storm. The wind picked up, sending my hair whipping around my face; I pulled it into a makeshift bun to get it out of my eyes. I had to find shelter. If only I had a clue where I was. Why had I been this stupid?
    The heavens dumped on me like a waterfall. I usually loved staying out in the rain—that was because I had never experienced a tempest like this. A small roofline caught my attention, barely visible through the trees. I cut into the bushes toward it. The bramble dug into my flesh, leaving a crosshatch of welts on my arms.
    The door of the old shack hung open at an odd angle, only attached by one leather hinge. Most of the windows were broken. Even though this was the sort of place an ax-murderer would hang out, I raced inside. It wasn’t like I had a better option.
    The second I entered the room the musk of wet earth and ancient wood surrounded me. I breathed in deeply, savoring the freshness. The world seemed newer somehow.
    The intricacy of the hand-planed walls mesmerized me. Even with how small it was, it must have taken forever to build this place. I sat cross-legged on the rickety floorboards waiting for the clouds to break. I could probably sit here for hours without much of a problem even if it wasn’t raining.
    The sounds of nature floated near—the song of a bird melded with the percussion of the rain in a timeless, soothing rhythm. I closed my eyes, my nerves calming with every revitalizing lungful of air.
    I would figure this out. Whatever it was, I would deal with it. My plight couldn’t be as bad as Aunt Grace had implied.
    I pulled out my phone, trying her number again. It was busy. Of course .
    I called Cassie to smooth things over before I went back—the same. It didn’t even roll to voice-mail.
    I hit every saved number I had. They wouldn’t go through.
    I tried the customer service number. No luck.
    Frustration bubbled up in me like an over-full pot. What was going on? Despite the trees and the rain, I had a clear signal.
    I took some more calming breaths, squaring my shoulders. I would use Cassie’s phone to call home. Everything was going to be fine. It