Chapter 1

Ten years ago, on prom night, I had three wishes.

My first wish was for Ethan Carter to finally see me. Not as the girl next door, the quiet friend who did his homework, but as someone he could love.

My second wish was to dance with him under the stars at the lake cabin, just once.

My third wish was for him to choose me, just for one night, over Jessica Vance.

None of them came true.

That night, the air was thick with the smell of pine and cheap beer. Everyone was laughing, gathered around a bonfire by the lake. I sat on the porch steps, watching Ethan. He was trying to set up a string of fairy lights on the cabin' s old wooden beams.

He wasn' t doing it for me. He was doing it for Jessica. It was his grand romantic gesture.

He walked over to me, his smile easy and bright. "Hey, Claire. Can I borrow your car keys? I left the good extension cord in my trunk, and Jessica locked mine in her car."

I handed them over without a second thought. My heart did a stupid little flip. He was talking to me. He needed me.

An hour later, my phone buzzed. It was my mom. Her voice was a raw, panicked sound I had never heard before.

"Claire, it's Dad. He had a heart attack. You need to come to the hospital. Now."

The world went silent. The laughter from the bonfire faded into a dull roar.

I ran to Ethan. He was with Jessica, underneath the now-twinkling fairy lights. They were kissing.

"Ethan," I said, my voice shaking. "I need my keys. My dad… I have to go."

He pulled away from Jessica, annoyed. "What? Hold on a sec."

Jessica glared at me. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"It's an emergency, Ethan. Please."

He fumbled in his pockets. His face paled. "Oh, man. I think… I think I left them in my car. The one Jessica locked."

He looked at Jessica. She just shrugged, her arms crossed. "Well, I'm not going back to my house to get the spare. It's miles away."

No one offered me a ride. No one seemed to understand the terror clawing at my throat. They were all drunk, happy, and lost in their own little world. Ethan just stood there, looking helpless.

"I'm sorry, Claire," he said. It meant nothing.

I ran. I ran down the long, dark dirt road that led away from the cabin. It was miles to the main road. I didn't have a phone signal to call a cab. I just ran, my prom dress tearing on branches, my feet blistering in my heels.

By the time a passing car finally stopped for me, by the time I got to the hospital, it was too late.

A nurse with sad eyes met me in the hallway. "I'm so sorry," she said. "He was asking for you."

I missed my father' s last moments because Ethan Carter wanted to hang fairy lights for another girl.

A week later, my mom and I sold the house and moved to London. I didn't say goodbye to anyone. I just disappeared.