He didn’t turn and she was losing ground. She bolted into the street but didn’t hear the screech until the grille of the car was just inches from her. Everything dropped into a paralyzing silence; everyone moved in slow motion.
She thought she heard someone say her name. She thought she felt hands on her shoulders, around her waist, people carrying her gingerly.
“Riley! Riley!” She blinked, and JD’s face—eyes wide with concern—came into focus.
“I didn’t hit her!” a woman was yelling, her voice high and hysterical. “She ran out into the street.”
Riley was sitting in a metal chair though she had no idea how she got there. JD was crouched in front of her, holding both of her hands. She felt another hand tapping her shoulder gently.
“She wasn’t hit, but she’s rattled. Is there someone I can call for you? What’s your name? I can call your parents for you.”
Riley turned toward the man’s voice. It was the guy from the train station, from the hospital—and now right here, on the street. He seemed to have a very faint accent, but Riley couldn’t place it.
“Are you OK? I’m a doctor—”
She heard JD’s voice. “She’s fine, just a little stunned.”
Riley hoped she was nodding her head, but everything felt totally disconnected—even her own limbs. Finally, she was able to force her lips to move. “I’m OK,” she said, her voice small and breathy. “I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
JD looked at her, his eyebrows pressed together. “Do you want me to call your parents?” he asked once the crowd had dispersed.
“That guy. The doctor. I saw him on the train and at the hospital.”
JD nodded slowly, taking her hand and helping her up. Panic shot through the nothingness she felt a second ago. “I think he’s following me.”
“Riley, he’s a doctor. He rides the train.”
“But he was right here,” Riley said, leaning in.
“This town is like four square miles. Of course you’re going to run into him.”
The sobs came out of nowhere.
“Ry—”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“We’ll just get you home and—”
The tears wracked her harder. “That’s just it. What if I am Jane? What if—if my parents have been lying to me my whole life?” She shook her head, horrified at how ridiculous her fit was sounding. “Oh my God. This is so stupid. I’m just spazzing out. I should never have dragged you into this. Riley—Jane Elizabeth—both of us are unstable.”
JD shook his head but smiled. “I’ll be sure to mention both your personalities on the nuthouse intake form.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Then I’d start out being Jane Elizabeth.” She sniffed. “The girl without a past.”
He slung an arm across her shoulders. “And I’m the guy who can’t escape his.”
Heat flushed Riley’s cheeks, but JD’s smile was soft.
? ? ?
Everyone else on the bus was asleep except for Riley. JD was stretched across two seats, his heavy black boots sticking out into the aisle, his hands clasped behind his head. Shelby had a brand-new Hudson U sweatshirt balled up under her cheek and was quietly drooling onto the glossy satin D. Riley felt like she couldn’t close her eyes even if she wanted to—like if she did, she might open them up again into a different life, a different person.
What if I am Jane?
The thought was heavy in her gut.
Do I have sisters and brothers? Would I have had a whole different life?
She thought about her parents—overprotective—but benign and sweet. Her father taught her to ride a bike. Her mother helped her paint her room.
But still the thought niggled at her.
This is crazy, Riley thought as the bus crossed the Welcome to Crescent City sign. She knew her parents. She trusted them. And she was a jerk for accusing them of being ruthless kidnappers.
But there are no pictures…
Her head lolled to the side, looking across the aisle where JD was lying, the faint light from outside casting spider-web shadows down his cheeks. He looked peaceful asleep. But suddenly, he blinked at her. Riley’s heart did a little double thump and she saw his grin spread in the darkness.
“You OK?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, totally.”
JD closed his eyes again but didn’t stop smiling. “Lies. I can see it with my eyes closed.”
Maybe it was the emotional exhaustion of the last two days, or that as of now, JD was just as close to Jane Elizabeth as Riley was, but she started talking. “I don’t know. I just feel—”
“Silly? Crazy?” JD shrugged back at her. “Don’t worry, it’s no big deal. You have questions.”
Riley worried her bottom lip and slipped her hands into her sweatshirt sleeves. “Do you think they’re out there looking for me? I mean, if it’s true, you know?”
JD shifted in his seat so he was closer to her. “Ry, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but we looked. There were no missing kid reports that matched your description.”
It was like a fist to her gut.