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Amber Blake is having dreams, and they just might be the key to saving her best friend, Mark.
Unfortunately, she's too preoccupied pretending to hate the boy next door, Carter Hayes. Secretly hoping to rekindle what once was, Amber atte...
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"Is she Dad's girlfriend or something?"
I'm not sure Ben hears me over the bustle of the diner. It's surprisingly busy for a Friday morning, with most of the booths already occupied, plus half of the grimy old bar. The place hasn't changed much since I spent afternoons here with Mark, doing homework and calling him over for refills on fries. An anxious buzzing crawls up my back, making me feel on edge. Most likely because it's my first time being here since learning about his death.
"What? No, she's not Dad's—" he catches himself, looks furtively over at Dad standing just ahead of us, then lowers his voice. "Doesn't she, I don't know, look familiar or something?"
I look over at them, too. Callie's back is to us as she leans over the hostess stand, messing with the menus. Dad stands slightly apart from her, staring pointedly at the floor as he waits for our table. I know I'm supposed to focus on Callie, but I can't tear my eyes away from him. He just seems so...old.
I never thought much about my parents getting older. Even though he looks mostly the same, I can't ignore the deep lines etched into his skin. There's a weird energy around him. He said nothing when Ben and I got in the car, and the whole ride here was awkward as hell. The only sound was Callie humming in the passenger seat, but she didn't acknowledge us either.
"Her name sounds a little familiar but... God, I don't know, Ben. How about we skip the riddles and you just tell me so this breakfast can be normal?"
Ben lowers his voice even more. "I can't, she—"
"Let's go, team!" Callie interrupts. We both look up again and find her waving us over before following a perky waitress to the table. Dad isn't far behind, but he keeps his head down as he shuffles along. It's amazing he even knows where they're going.
Ben and I hang back, taking our time to get to the booth.
"They both know about your memory loss, so don't worry about having to explain it all. And, uh, just a heads up," Ben adds, keeping his eyes forward. "Callie, well, she's a little... off."
"Off? Off how?"
"I mean, you'll see for yourself, but she's just a bit all over the place. Sometimes it's hard to follow where she's going, but I wouldn't worry too much." He forces a smile as we come up to the table. "You guys normally get along okay."
