I turn to her. “I need your phone—” I grab it and call Sam’s number but it doesn’t go through. I try a few more times but the call keeps failing.
Oliver arrives. “What’s the matter?” he asks.
“Julie broke her phone,” Mika says gravely.
“Dang, I’m sorry. I’m sure we can go get it fixed tomorrow—”
“No. I need it tonight—let me see your phone—”
I take it from his hands before he can say anything. The call fails again. And again.
“Who’s she calling?” Oliver asks as I pace around, desperately trying the number again, holding his phone up to maybe get a different signal that Sam can find. I must appear out of my mind, because a crowd has formed around me, watching. Why isn’t this working?
I remember something Sam said. His voice echoes in my head.
Only our phones are connected.
I shove Oliver’s phone back at him as my mother arrives at the scene. She asks me what’s wrong, but I don’t have time to answer. I grab her phone and call Sam again, even though I know it won’t work. Nothing will. But I don’t know what else to do. The calls only work through my phone, and it’s cracked and broken because I was so stupid, I didn’t watch where I was going. I need to figure something out. I need to fix this.
Sam expects me to call him tonight. I can’t leave him waiting forever. What if he thinks I forgot about him? What if he thinks something is wrong? My heart is pounding harder than ever as a rush of adrenaline pumps through me, making it hard to breathe. I have to go find him. I have to find Sam. I’m not losing the last call I have left. I’m not losing him all over again. Not like this.
I turn to my mom. “I need your keys—” I take them from her hands without answering any questions. “Have Dad drive you home!”
I get into the car and start driving without knowing where I’m going. I drive through town, circling the streets, looking in store windows and coffee shops where we used to go, to see if Sam’s there—but he isn’t. I park the car and run into Sun and Moon, ignoring the looks from strangers, and check the table where we used to sit.
“Sam? Sam!” I call his name.
But he isn’t here. Of course he isn’t.
Then I remember it was him who went looking for me. I get back into the car, and the next thing I know I’m driving up route 10, where he crashed that night, again. I pull down my window and look out to see if he’s walking along the side of the road, searching for me. But Sam isn’t out here, either. Another chill goes through me. I glance at the clock and see it’s ten past eleven. I’m running out of time. If Sam isn’t here walking along the roads, where would he be? Where is he going?
I remember something else. During one of our phone calls. I asked him what he saw.
Fields. Endless fields.
Of course! I turn the car around at once and take the next exit, toward the fields where he brought me. I take the shorter road Jay found and reach the path in no time. As soon as I get out of the car, I am swallowed in darkness. My heart is pounding, and I can barely see a thing as I race up the path toward the fields. Tree branches reach over my head like thin hands. For a moment, I think about turning back to the car, but I push forward. Sam is waiting for me somewhere out there. I can’t let him down.
Where are you, Sam? Why can’t I reach you?
Something pulses in my pocket. When I feel a warmth, I reach inside to check. The selenite. The crystal Yuki gave me that I carry everywhere. It’s glowing! I hold it out in front of me and let its light illuminate my path, banishing the darkness. I can feel its energy radiating through me and into the air. I raise the crystal to the sky and see the moon lower itself toward me, granting me more light. I see everything now. The fields have never looked clearer than they do in this moment. And then it starts snowing. In the middle of May? I look around, wondering what’s going on. As the snow falls on my hair and shoulders, I realize it isn’t snow at all. It’s petals. It’s raining cherry blossom petals?
This must mean he’s close.
I know you’re here, Sam. I can feel you. Because you’re everywhere. You were back in the coffee shop, there at the lake, somewhere waiting in these fields. All this time I’ve been wondering why we’ve been given this second chance. But maybe we’re always connected, even after you’re gone. Because I can never completely lose you. You’re a part of me now. You’re everywhere I look, falling from the sky like petals.