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Because he always ‘got me’, no matter what. I never had to explain, I never had to elaborate. Things could go unspoken.
    It was a twin thing.
    But now he’s gone and I’m alone.
    It’s not a comfortable place, to be a half without a whole.
    I glance around my room. It’s large and expansive and the chair in front of the windows beckons me, and I slouch into it, pulling my knees to my chest, picking back up Jane Eyre.
    Below me, outside, the English moors roll on for miles, yawning across the perimeter of Whitley. Whitley is so similar to Thornfield Hall that Charlotte Bronte could’ve written her book from my windows.
    As I watch, fog rises up from the ground, shrouding everything in mist.
    It’s just when I’m glancing away to read my book that I see the movement.
    I fixate again on the moors.
    Focusing harder, I wait for it, almost expecting to see the mysterious man from earlier.
    But it’s Dare.
    He walks along the path from the gardens, gliding along in the night, his stride wide and familiar.
    Then he stops.
    He must feel me staring at him because he looks up.
    He turns his dark head and his gaze finds me.
    It’s as though he can see me watching, all the way from the stable.
    His eyes are blacker than night, and he has found me.
    His gaze is hot and I close my eyes, my breathing shallow.
    When I open them, he’s gone.
    But the strange feeling, the odd thought, lingers with me.
    He’s dangerous.
    I’m unsafe.
    And he has found me.
    What a strange thought.
    But then again, I’m a strange girl.

----
    B reakfast and lunch are just as formal and uncomfortable at Whitley as dinner is.
    After a morning of sitting uncomfortably alone, I manage to slip away without Sabine noticing. She’s been watching me, and I fear that she’s waiting for her chance to pin me down, to talk to me more about my mother.
    I can’t do that.
    Not yet.
    As I burst into the fresh air of the outdoors, I tilt my face to the sun and draw in a deep breath.
    God, it feels good to be free.
    Startled, I realize that even though I’m nervous of this place, it’s still a welcome break from my reality back home.
    The suffocating daily life of a girl who lives in a funeral home.
    Back home, everyone knows what I am. A sad girl who lost most of her family and went crazy. I’ll never shake those things off, I’ll never just be normal.
    But I’m free of it here.
    For now.
    Until I’m here long enough and they figure it all out.
    Sighing, I head down the cobbled path toward the stables, intent on exploring the property, on seeing everything there is to see.
    My feet crunch on the stone, my lungs expanding as I breathe.
    I’m startled when a shadow steps out from the building.
    My gasp is louder than I intend, and Dare looks up.
    He’s dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt. The pieces fit him so well, they look tailored specifically for him. It seems that no matter what he wears, he’s perfectly at home in the clothing.
    He arcs an eyebrow as he pauses on the path.
    “Are you lost?”
    His tone is careful, almost abrupt. He’s giving me space, trying not to crowd me, just like I requested. He’s hesitant to open himself to me now, because I’ve already rejected him.
    It feels odd, like he’s a stranger, and I don’t like it but I don’t stop it.
    Because it has to be.
    It has to be for now.
    I shuffle my feet nervously.
    “No. I’m just looking around.”
    “Would you like company?” he asks, and he’s poised to join me.
    It would be so easy, to just say yes.
    But…something is in his eyes.
    Something that I’ve seen before, but I can’t remember.
    The fear swells back up in my stomach and I shake my head.
    “No, thank you,” I answer finally, and Dare’s dark eyes close. He’s guarded now so I can’t hurt him. “I think I’ll just explore on my own. I don’t want to waste your time.”
    “You’ve never been a waste of my time,” he tells me, and his tone is oddly formal.
    He walks on, past me, and for a