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probably a mess,” I tell him. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting a visit from the undead.”
    “ Lexi !” Ragan shrieks, as though I’ve lost my mind. But Jeremy just grins, like what I said is amusing. He doesn’t seem confused by it at all. Ragan sure does though. She looks ready to throw me in the loony bin.
    “What’s the matter with you?” she hisses.
    “Nothing’s the matter with me,” I tell her. “But you should check his pulse. He’s Jeremy Michaels—get it? The guy that died.”
    She looks at me like I’m foaming at the mouth. Grrr !
    “The guy from my car accident!” I’m practically yelling, but she’s not listening to a word I say. Or at least she’s not taking my words seriously. Instead, she’s squinting her eyes at me and shaking her head .
    “ Lexi , I think that accident’s given you permanent brain damage.”
    Ugh! I give up, marching upstairs. I do it with as much dignity as I can muster wearing a chocolate-stained bathrobe and Tweetie bird slippers. I can feel Jeremy’s eyes follow me up the stair. I want to flip him off.
    As soon as I get to my room, he sends me another text. Grrr ! After a minute of chewing on my lip, I read it, but it doesn’t say what I expected. It says, “You promised.”
    A shiver runs through me.
    For a long time I chew on my thumbnail, then I chew on my lip, trying to figure out what that means— you promised . Finally, I give up and text back, “Promised what?”
    He responds almost immediately, “That you would come back to me.”
    Another shiver runs through me, through my body, through my soul. What is he talking about? I don’t have a clue, but I don’t want to know. I don’t write him back. Instead, I throw my iPhone across the room.
     
    ***
     
    Right after Mom gets home from work, she and I go to Ragan’s choir recital, but I do a double take when we enter the gym. Dakota’s sitting up in the front bleachers. I wince. I forgot, Gina’s in the choir too. Dakota waves and gestures for me to sit with him, but I don’t. Instead, I turn to Mom. “I don’t feel well,” I rub my sweaty forehead. “I’m going to go back home.”
    It’s not a lie; I don’t feel well. But if Gina wasn’t here, I’d probably stay. Only, she is here, and I don’t feel up to watching Dakota gaze at her all night.
    Dakota follows me outside, though.
    “What’s up with you?” he asks. “Where are you going?”
    “Home,” I tell him, or more like snap at him.
    But he doesn’t get it. “I’ll walk with you,” he says.
    “No, don’t. I don’t want you to.” I keep walking. “Stay and listen to your girlfriend.”
    “Why are you acting like this?” he calls after me, but I just keep walking.
    I leave the building by myself. I head for home feeling dizzy and sick. The spots are back. They’re zooming all over the place.
    “ Lexi .” I hear my name, but it sounds far off, distant. I turn to look. It’s Dakota. He’s down the street, about half a block.
    I try to yell to him, tell him I’m falling, but I can’t. Nothing comes out of my mouth. I wanted to tell him to catch me. But somehow he’s already doing it. He’s here. Beside me. I can feel his arms cradle me as I fall.
     
    ***
     
    When I wake, I’m sitting on the curb. Dakota’s beside me, his eyes full of concern. “You’re awake.” He sounds so astonished it makes me smile. “I was afraid you went into another coma.”
    “No.” I swallow, trying to piece things together. “I just fainted.”
    He looks at me closely. “Are you okay now?”
    I glance around, feeling sort of dazed. “Yeah. I think so.”
    Dakota helps me home.
    “Isn’t Gina going to be mad?” I glance at Dakota sideways, knowing she will be. Dakota’s leaving the recital to walk me home will make her explode.
    Dakota raises his eyebrows. “She already is. But she’ll get over it.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I know you two don’t get along, but I wish you could. You both mean a lot to