Ghosts on the Bus

Karensa POV

"You're Rhys? Of course you are!"

The boy's face clears with sudden recognition.

"I should've seen it before. You look so much like..." He trails off, studying me. His brow pulls together. "Different, though. Thinner. But it's definitely you."

"No," I blurt.

My heart trips over itself.

"I'm Rhys."

He blinks.

For one awful second, I think I've messed up already.

Then his expression shifts again.

"Right. That's what I said. Rhys."

He holds out his hand.

"I'm Caleb. We used to live next door to each other, remember? You, me, and your sister Kerensa. We were all friends."

Caleb.

The name hits somewhere deep.

A boy flashes through my memory. Dirt streaked across his face. A hockey stick tucked under one arm. That stupid, easy laugh as he listened to something Rhys had said.

Rhys's best friend.

I remember summer afternoons in the grass, the three of us stretched out under the sun, arguing over nothing and laughing until Mom called us inside.

It feels strange remembering it now.

Not because I forgot.

Because it feels like it happened to somebody else.

"Right," I say, forcing myself to shake his hand.

His grip is firm.

Familiar.

I let go quickly.

"Caleb. I remember now."

"Man, it's been a long time." He settles back into his seat, completely unaware that my entire body is screaming at me to get away from him. "How've you been? How's your mom? And Kerensa?"

He pauses.

"Is she... doing okay?"

Every question feels like a trap.

I grab the strap of my bag and pull it tighter across my shoulder.

"They're fine."

I look toward the window.

"Everyone's fine."

"Okay..." Caleb stretches the word, watching me. "You sure you're all right? You seem kind of—"

"Fine."

It comes out sharper than I intended.

I force my voice to soften.

"Just tired. Long ride."

He doesn't look convinced.

Thankfully, he doesn't push.

Instead, he shifts in his seat and stares ahead.

"You know, I always wondered what happened to you guys after..." He hesitates. "Well. After everything."

My fingers tighten around the strap.

"Rhys used to talk about Kerensa all the time. He was so proud of his little sister. Always bragging about how smart she was. How tough."

A faint smile touches his mouth.

"Even when those twins were giving her a hard time."

My throat closes.

The twins.

Xavier and Hunter.

I don't need to think about them.

I never really stopped thinking about them.

They're the reason I'm sitting here pretending to be my dead brother.

They're the reason my father is rotting in a prison cell.

They're part of the reason I had to tear myself apart and build someone else in his place.

"Things changed."

I pull out my phone and wake the screen.

I don't read anything.

I don't even know what I'm looking at.

I just need somewhere else to focus.

"I guess so," Caleb says.

There's a pause.

Then, casually—

"Hey, I heard the twins are trying out too."

My stomach drops.

"Xavier and Hunter. You run into them yet?"

I stare at the blank screen.

They're here.

Of course they are.

Why wouldn't they be?

Xavier and Hunter had been hockey prodigies right alongside Rhys. The three of them had been practically untouchable back then. Golden boys with scouts watching them before they'd even grown into their bodies.

Rhys had been the third piece of that perfect little legend.

I can still picture him on the ice.

Fast. Fearless. Completely at home.

Dad had watched him with that look he reserved for his son—the kind of pride I could never seem to earn.

"No."

I shove my phone into my pocket.

Too fast.

"Haven't seen them."

"Well, if you do, maybe you could—"

Caleb stops.

Something changes in his expression.

"Never mind. It's probably not my place."

The bus begins to slow.

Thank God.

We're here.

"Hey, Rhys."

I glance at him.

"It was good seeing you again."

There's something hopeful in his voice.

"Maybe we could catch up properly sometime? You know, when you're not busy?"

"Maybe."

I'm already standing.

My bag is over my shoulder before the bus has completely stopped.

I don't wait for him to answer.

I practically run down the aisle.

The second I step outside, the fresh air hits my face.

I suck in a deep breath.

Once.

Twice.

My heart is still pounding.

Caleb.

The twins.

My past.

All of it has followed me here.

How am I supposed to keep this lie alive when people who knew the real Rhys are walking around this place?

People who knew him.

People who knew me.

People who might look a little too closely.

The Royal Hockey Academy rises in front of me, all stone and glass, imposing enough to make me feel small for half a second.

Then I straighten.

This is what I came for.

The beginning.

I adjust my cap and square my shoulders.

Don't think.

Just walk.

But that voice in the back of my head won't shut up.

What if they find out?

What if someone recognizes me?

What if they realize I'm not Rhys?

I'm the girl they bullied until there was nothing left of her.

The girl everyone thought was gone for good.

I push through the Academy doors.

No turning back now.

I am Rhys.

Rhys, the hockey player.

Rhys, the brother who died protecting his family.

That name is mine now.

I'll carry it, no matter how heavy it gets.

And I will not fail.

I collect my key from the office and climb three flights of stairs to room 307.

By the time I reach the top, my legs ache, but I barely notice.

My mind is still stuck on Caleb.

On Xavier.

On Hunter.

I stop outside my door.

My door.

The thought should make me feel excited.

Instead, dread curls low in my stomach.

The key is slick with sweat in my palm.

Who will be inside?

Please let them be strangers.

I need strangers.

Strangers don't know Kerensa.

Strangers don't remember what happened.

Strangers won't look at me and see someone I'm not supposed to be anymore.

I slide the key into the lock.

Click.

The sound seems ridiculously loud in the quiet hallway.

I hesitate.

Then I turn the handle.

The door swings open.

The room is bigger than I expected. Three beds line the walls, with enough space between them to keep everyone from being completely on top of one another.

I barely see any of it.

Because there are two people standing by the far window.

My entire body goes cold.

No.

I know them.

I'd know them anywhere.

Seven years haven't changed that.

One of them stands with restless energy, his body coiled even while he's perfectly still.

Hunter.

The other doesn't move much at all.

Perfect posture.

Controlled.

Cold.

Xavier.

My fingers tighten around the door handle.

They're both here.

And somehow, after all these years, they still look exactly like the boys who ruined my life.