Элизабет Чандлер: Evercrossed

They were such simple words. Ivy sobbed. The pain was so bad she felt as if she couldnʹt breathe. Beth laid her hand gently on Ivyʹs back.

ʺHow could I have been so blind?ʺ Ivy said, choking with tears. ʺYou were right, Beth. Youʹve been right all along. How could I have imagined that Guy was Tristan?ʺ

ʺI can understand how,ʺ Beth replied. ʺYou still miss Tristan. Youʹre still healing. Your heart wanted so much for it to be him, you convinced yourself.ʺ

ʺBut you and Will warned me. And I refused to listen. Iʹm so sorry.ʺ

Beth remained silent. ʺLately Iʹve been thinking to myself, Whatʹs wrong with Beth? But I was the one acting strangely. And you, you could see me making the same mistakes I made before, trusting the wrong person.” Ivy took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

ʺIt was the night of the séance, wasnʹt it, when we let Gregory come back into our world?ʺ Beth nodded, her light hair tumbling forward, shielding her face.

ʺLast year,ʺ Ivy said, ʺwhen Tristan came back, it was easy for him to get inside Willʹs mind.

Will wasnʹt psychic like you, or a believer like Philip, but Tristan got access because he and Will thought alike. In the same way,ʺ she reasoned, ʺit would be easy for Gregory to get inside a murdererʹs mind:ʺ

ʺEspecially someone his age like Luke,ʺ Beth replied. Ivy shuddered. ʺWhen you were consulting the Ouija board, the planchette spelled out Gregory is here.ʺ

ʺI thought if I could contact him—ʺ Beth began. ʺAnd when I went down and opened the door,ʺ Ivy continued, ʺthere he was.”

ʺHeʹll be back,ʺ Beth said. ʺAt some point, Luke will come back.ʺ She grasped Ivyʹs hand.

ʺDonʹt pull away from me, Ivy. Not now. We need to take care of each other.

Please donʹt pull away.ʺ Ivy put her arms around Beth. ʺNever! Not ever again.ʺ

IVY LEFT AUNT CINDYʹS NOTE IN HER IN‐BOX. ON HER way back to the cottage she glanced toward the barn. She was still feeling too raw to approach Will and start mending the breach between them.

If there was one thing she had learned in the last few weeks, it was that she did not love Will the way she had loved Tristan — with her whole heart and soul — the way she had begun to love Luke.

She could not erase that knowledge and pretend that she did. When Ivy emerged from the shower, Beth was already in bed. ʺYou okay?ʺ Ivy asked. ʺYes, are you?ʺ

“I’m going to be,ʺ Ivy replied with determination. ʺAs long as we stay together,”

Beth said, ʺeverything is going to be okay.”

Ivy lay awake for a long time, staring up at the cottage ceiling. Beth fell asleep quickly, and Dhanya and Kelsey arrived home an hour later. Ivy remained still until she was certain that everyone was asleep, then rose and tiptoed down the steps. When she turned on the lamp next to the living room sofa, she was greeted with a soft meow.

ʺDusty! Youʹre supposed to be out protecting the garden from voles.ʺ

The cat rolled on his back for a tummy rub, then leaped off the sofa and strolled to the door. Letting him out, Ivy glanced down at the screen doorʹs broken latch.

In a place where the doors were usually kept unlocked, there had been no reason to fix it.

For a moment, Ivy considered closing the main door and bolting it, but she retreated to the sofa, leaving it open. Luke was a fugitive from the law and would know better than to show up in a place where others had learned his identity. As for Gregory, bolted doors wouldnʹt stop him.

Ivy worked on the puzzle, almost finishing it before the urge to sleep caught up with her. She turned off the light. Lying on the sofa, she stared out the screen door to the garden, watching the patterns of moonlight and darkness. Then she rolled over, face to the cushions, and fell asleep.

Sometime later she awoke with a start. Staring at the sofaʹs striped fabric, Ivy didnʹt know where she was at first and didnʹt know what had awakened hei^The room was dark, the house still. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth. Luke, she thought, and tried to pull the hand away, kicking backward with her legs, but the attacker was strong, his physical power obvious in the little effort it took to control her.

ʺIvy, shhh! Shhh!ʺ Luke said. She fought hard, moving her head from side to side, trying to bite his hand to make him pull it away. Tristan, help me! Tristan, please! she prayed.

Luke held her spine tightly against his chest but let go of her mouth. Before Ivy could scream, he held in front of her a shiny penny. ʺIvy, I remember,ʺ he said quietly. ʺRemember! Remember what? Killing Corinne?ʺ

He laid the penny in her palm. ʺThe first time we kissed, you were diving for a penny. I saw you lying at the bottom of the swimming pool and I thought you had drowned. I jumped in after you.ʺ

For a moment, Ivy couldnʹt speak, couldnʹt breathe. He laid his palm on top of hers, then twined his fingers around her hand.

ʺThey call me Luke, but my name… is Tristan.ʺ

Her heart pounded the way it had the night of the accident. She turned in his arms, letting the penny slip to the floor. He traced her face lightly with a finger, his own face alight with wonder as he gazed at her. He kissed her, then rested his face against hers.

She could feel his warm tears running down her cheeks. ʺTristan, I thought it was you, but then I stopped believing.ʺ

ʺDonʹt! If you stop believing, there will be nothing but darkness left for me.ʺ

She held him tightly. ʺI love you, Tristan. I will love you always.ʺ

ʺAlways, Ivy,ʺ he whispered, as he had that night.

ʺI canʹt bear to let you go again,” she said, and felt the deep breath he took.

ʺIvy, something is wrong. I donʹt know what happened between the time I said good‐bye to you as Tristan and the moment I gained consciousness as Guy — as Luke,ʺ he corrected himself, ʺbut something terrible is going on. I feel it in the deepest part of me.ʺ

ʺIn your soul?ʺ Ivy asked. ʺWhat are you, angel or human? Is it like before, when you spoke through Will and Beth?ʺ

ʺNo.ʺ He took a half step back from her and held out his hands. ʺLukeʹs face is my face now, his hands are my hands — and only mine. I donʹt know where Lukeʹs spirit is. His mind and soul arenʹt in this body, and I have no knowledge of his life beyond what others tell me. The bits and pieces Iʹve been gradually remembering are from my life as Tristan.ʺ

ʺDo you remember Gregory?ʺ she asked. ʺI mean, more than we talked about the other night?ʺ

ʺI remember how it was to come face‐to‐face with him. I remember his gray eyes. Sometimes they were cool and distant other times, when I caught him off guard, they burned with anger.ʺ ʺGregoryʹs back.ʺ

ʺBack?ʺ Tristan repeated. ʺIvy, if thatʹs true, youʹre in danger.ʺ

ʺEarlier tonight, Beth was trying to reach him through a Ouija board. The planchette spelled out Gregory is here.

And when I went downstairs—ʺ Ivy stopped, a chill going up her spine.

ʺYou opened the door and saw me. Later you found out that I was accused of murder, and you believed Gregory was in me.” Ivy nodded.

ʺWho else was in the house then?ʺ he asked. She didnʹt answer. ʺIvy, who else?ʺ

She looked over her shoulder, then turned toward the screen door, hearing voices outside. Beams of flashlights swept the garden.

ʺThe police are back,ʺ Ivy said, grasping Tristanʹs arm. ʺThey guessed that you would return. Theyʹre looking for you.ʺ

Aunt Cindyʹs voice rose above the others. ʺThis is an inn. I have guests who are sleeping. You cannot come onto private property like this—ʺ

Tristan wrapped his arms around Ivy. ʺI canʹt leave you with—ʺ

ʺThey know you only as Luke,ʺ she said. ʺThey think youʹre a murderer. You must go.ʺ