Chapter 5 Rule One

Ava read the words again, hoping they would somehow change. She cannot remember what happened. The photograph frightened her more than she wanted to admit. The sentence looked impossible, yet the photograph in her hands made it difficult to dismiss, since she was standing beside Caleb, smiling at the camera, though she had no memory of that day, no memory of being at Northwood with her brother, and no memory of what happened afterward.

She looked at Jace, who had gone completely silent. "What does this mean?"

Jace did not answer immediately, his eyes remaining fixed on the photograph, and something about his expression made Ava realize that he was not simply surprised. He looked troubled, as though the picture had confirmed something he feared.

"You said you wanted answers," he finally said.

"I do."

"Then you need to understand that some answers are better found slowly."

Ava frowned. "That sounds like another way of telling me nothing."

"I am trying to keep you from getting hurt."

"You barely know me."

Jace looked directly at her. "I knew Caleb." His voice softened. "And I know what happened to him changed everything."

Ava looked down at the photograph again. "Did Caleb know I was there that day?"

"Yes."

"Why have I forgotten it?"

Jace's expression tightened. "I do not know."

Ava almost challenged him again, but she stopped herself, instead slipping the photograph carefully into her bag. "I am going to find out."

Jace watched her. "That is exactly what worries me."

Ava turned toward the academy entrance. "Then you should stop worrying." She walked away before he could respond.

Jace remained where he was, watching her disappear through the doors. He had spent three years trying to forget that night, convincing himself that Caleb was gone and that keeping everyone at a distance was the only way to avoid another loss. Then Ava had walked into the arena, alive, looking almost exactly as she had three years ago.

Jace closed his eyes briefly. There was a reason he had created his rule. Never ever get attached. Attachment had cost him his best friend, and it had cost him three years of sleep. Now, against every instinct he had, he could already feel himself becoming attached to the one person he had promised himself he would never let close.

The next morning, Northwood was still talking about Ava, and by breakfast, students were whispering about the scholarship girl who had become the center of Jace Hunter's attention. Ava ignored them as she entered the dining hall, where Mia waved from a table near the windows.

Ava walked over and sat beside her. "You are famous now," Mia said with a grin.

Ava sighed. "I would rather be invisible."

Mia laughed. "Good luck with that."

Across the room, Jace looked up, and their eyes met. Ava quickly looked away, and Jace did the same, neither of them noticing the person sitting near the exit, quietly watching them both.

Jace forced himself to look away from Ava, but the distraction had already taken hold. His teammates were arguing about the previous night's game, the coach was discussing their next training session, and someone across the table was making jokes about the attention Ava had attracted since arriving at Northwood. Normally, Jace would have joined the conversation without thinking, but today he barely heard them.

"You are staring again."

Jace looked at Marcus, one of his closest teammates. "I am not."

Marcus laughed. "You have been looking at her since she walked into the dining hall."

Jace picked up his glass. "She is new. Everyone is looking at her."

"That is not how you were looking."

Jace gave him a warning glance, and Marcus raised both hands. "Fine. I will leave it alone."

Jace returned his attention to breakfast, but his mind remained elsewhere. He knew what his teammates were seeing. They were seeing attraction. What they could not see was the fear underneath it.

Three years ago, Jace had believed that caring about someone made him stronger. Caleb had been his closest friend, his teammate, and the person he trusted more than anyone else, and when Caleb disappeared, Jace learned the opposite lesson. Attachment created weaknesses. Weaknesses created mistakes. Mistakes destroyed people. That was why he had created Rule One. Never ever get attached. He had followed it ever since, with no serious relationships, no promises, no emotional dependence, keeping people close enough to enjoy their company but distant enough that losing them would never destroy him.

Then Ava arrived, and Jace hated how quickly she had disturbed everything he had built.

Across the dining hall, Ava was listening to Mia talk while occasionally glancing around the room, and she looked calm, but Jace knew better. The photograph had unsettled her. He also knew something she did not. The photograph was not the only thing Caleb had left behind.

There was another memory Jace had never told anyone about. Ava standing near the old practice building. Caleb shouting something. A car speeding away. Then darkness. Jace had spent years trying to understand what he had witnessed that night, but every time he thought he was close to the truth, another piece disappeared.

His phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen. Unknown Number. For a moment, he considered ignoring it, and then another message appeared. You should have stayed away from her.

Jace's expression hardened, and he quickly locked the screen before anyone could notice. "Everything okay?" Marcus asked.

"Fine." Jace stood. "I need to make a call."

He left the dining hall and walked into the empty corridor, and his phone vibrated again. She does not remember what happened. Do not make her remember.

Jace stared at the words, his breathing becoming heavier. Someone knew. Someone else knew about Ava's missing memories. He looked back through the glass doors toward the dining hall, where Ava was still sitting with Mia, completely unaware.

Jace had spent three years protecting the secret surrounding Caleb. Now he realized the secret had never been buried. Someone had been waiting for Ava to return, and whoever it was had just warned him to keep her from remembering the truth.

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