He slipped my hands into his to help me up.

“I’m sorry about Grandma Olivia,” I said, truly and deeply sad about the death of his wife. “If only I’d known that, too. I really wanted to get to know her better.”

“Me, too, Pix, but she was so proud of you. Never forget that.”

THE MAGIC DISSOLVING-BONES TRICK

Cameron had started a bonfire behind the church. When we pulled up, there were several students out there whose parents were part of the Order. Some I recognized. Some I didn’t. I walked out to join them as my parents went inside to lay out more food for the feast. Overall, the mood was terribly somber for such a festive event.

“Hey, Lorelei,” Brooklyn said to me as I strolled up, not really certain I should join them. She was sitting by a brooding Cameron. It would seem the Cameron I knew and loved like one loved a thug with the ability to snap people’s necks in the blink of an eye was back. I couldn’t help but notice the odd glances people were casting my way as they walked past carrying in food. They were doing the same to Cameron.

“Hey, Brooke,” I said, and she looked at me in surprise. No idea why. She’d said hi to me first.

I noticed Glitch had come, probably because his father was a member of the Order and had dragged him here. He walked away and disappeared into the shadows of the building when I joined them. The thought of Glitch and me being at odds was the most foreign thing about this entire day. Having my parents back after they’d been missing for ten years? Awesome. Knowing I’d gone through a picture and told my paternal grandfather how to save the world? Worked for me. But Glitch and me at odds? Disliking each other? Not hanging out? Not ordering pizza and watching ’80s movies all weekend? No way. I just couldn’t see it. It felt wrong on a thousand levels.

I was beginning to remember this life, though. Snippets of time revealed themselves to me slowly. I tried to remember when I’d pushed him away. What I’d done. But it wouldn’t surface. It was there. I’d get it eventually, but for now, I would just have to wing it. To make amends based on secondhand knowledge.

“No one ever calls me that,” Brooke said, and I realized she was talking about my calling her Brooke.

I closed my eyes in frustration. Another misstep. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” she said, rushing to reassure me. “It’s okay. I love it. It was just … I don’t know, a surprise.”

She frowned into the fire then, as though her thoughts had gotten the best of her. Then she explained. “It’s like I remember you calling me Brooke even though we’ve never been friends.”

I took a mental step back. Was she starting to remember our other life? Our other reality?

I jumped to sit on her other side, hoping she’d elaborate.

But Cameron spoke then, seeming just as confused, just as lost. “I remember stuff, too. Stuff that never happened, only I remember it like it did.”

“Like a double-exposed picture,” I said, encouraging him.

He fixed his gaze on me. “You know what I am.” He said it accusingly.

Brooke frowned at him. “What you are?”

But Cameron’s gaze never left mine.

Before I could answer, before I could explain, a woman walked up to us. She had soft blond hair and kind eyes, and I knew her. I knew her from somewhere.

“Food’s ready,” she said to all of us; then she ruffled Cameron’s hair. He didn’t seem to mind, which surprised me even more.

After she walked away, it hit me. “Holy cow, Cameron, that was your mother.”

He nodded. “Why does that surprise you?”

His mother had died when he was three. It was a constant source of pain for him. He’d been there. He’d watched her fall to her death. She’d sacrificed her life for him, and Jared was the one who came for her. Being what he was, part angel and part human, Cameron saw him when others would not have. He’d never forgotten Jared, which was the root cause of their initial strife. And probably a lot of it afterwards as well.

“It doesn’t. I just didn’t recognize her. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her.”

He bit down, worked his jaw. “You’re lying.”

“Cameron,” Brooke said. “That’s not nice.”

“Maybe not nice,” he said, shooting daggers at me with his gaze. “But true. Because my mother is not supposed to be here.”

Brooke’s brows slid together. “You’re right,” she said. “I remember that, too. She died when you were a baby.”

Cameron, in a rare show of emotion, scraped a hand over his face, then held it there. He squeezed Brooke’s hand with the other as he tried to regain control of himself. I could sense the pain rushing through him as he remembered his mother’s death.

“But that was a different time,” I said, putting my arm across Brooke and rubbing their hands reassuringly. “A time that has been altered. It never happened. I guess. I’m not really sure how it works.”

His breath hitched in his chest, and emotion, strong and potent, seeped out of him. He was crying. Sobbing behind his hand. My shock could not have been more evident if I’d screamed it from the rooftops.

Brooklyn threw her arms around him, tears stinging her eyes, too.

“How is this possible?” she asked, and I wondered how many more would remember two realities. Only those most affected? That would definitely include us. And most of the people in Riley’s Switch.