Impostor

by Jill Hathaway

  “Vee!” Scotch calls. “Vee, are you insane? I’m not going to hurt you!”

  I ignore the voice and keep going. All I know is that I’m stranded in the middle of nowhere with a boy who may or may not have tried to molest me last year. I’m bleeding and confused. I just want Scotch to go away.

  “Stop!” I hear Scotch panting. His footsteps slow, and then cease. “I won’t chase you. If you want to stay out here all night, fine. It’s your choice.”

  My feet are killing me. I quit running and listen to myself breathe. Long, jagged mouthfuls of air. I look up at the sky and wish on the North Star that he will just leave.

  “Crazy bitch,” I hear him mutter, and then more footsteps, moving farther away. Before long, his car starts up. Scotch revs his engine a few times and then takes off. Relieved, I sigh and head back toward the road. His taillights become smaller and eventually disappear.

  I start to walk toward town, forcing my feet to keep moving, even though each step is agony. I fix my gaze on the city lights ahead. My destination seems a million miles away, even though I know it can’t be more than five. Still, that’s an awfully long way to walk on bare feet in the middle of the night.

  A few minutes pass, and I hear a car somewhere behind me. I turn and watch the headlights come closer. Shielding my eyes, I try to decide whether I should try to flag the person down. Scotch was bad enough. What if the next driver is a serial killer?

  In the end, my feet win out, and I wave my arms to get the driver’s attention. The car slows and stops beside me. It’s a blue station wagon. There’s a woman with a bun and kind eyes behind the steering wheel. She reaches for a button, and the window goes down.

  “Do you need some help, sweetheart?” she asks.

  I hesitate.

  It seems like a terrible idea to get in a car with a stranger, but I’m pretty sure I could take this woman if it came down to it. She’s at least sixty years old and looks like she’d weigh about a hundred pounds soaking wet. And there’s just something about her that seems reassuring.

  “I was in an accident,” I explain. “Could you give me a ride into town?”

  “Of course,” she says, pressing another button. The doors unlock.

  I pull open the door and sit in the passenger seat. Warm air from the heater blasts my face and legs, and all of a sudden I feel sleepy. I raise my fingers to my face, which is all sticky. Gross.

  “Oh no. You’re bleeding,” the woman says. She reaches out hesitantly, as if to touch my forehead, but she stops before making contact.

  “It’s okay,” I say. “My father’s a doctor. He’ll be able to fix me up. Besides, I think it’s stopped bleeding.”

  She opens the glove compartment and takes out a package of Kleenex. “Why don’t you press some of these on your cut, just to be sure?”

  I grab a few tissues and hold them to my wound. “Thanks. I really appreciate you giving me a ride. What’s your name?”

  “Diane,” she says, returning the package to the glove compartment. After looking over her shoulder, she pulls the car back onto the road.

  “I’m Sylvia,” I say.

  She nods, keeping her eyes on the road.

  We ride in silence for a bit. I start to doze.

  Before long, we pull into my driveway. Every light in my house is blazing. As I get out of the car, the door opens and my father’s silhouette appears. He steps onto the porch in his slippers and robe. I know that I’m in deep trouble.

  “Thanks again,” I tell Diane.

  “Anytime,” she says.

  I shut the door, and she pulls out of the driveway.

  It is only then that I realize I never gave her directions to my house.

  Chapter Four

  Without a word, my father holds the door open for me.

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  I stop and turn to face him. I haven’t seen him this angry since the time he found out Mattie went to an all-night kegger instead of going to a movie.

  “Do you know how worried I was? I called the police. They asked whether I wanted to report my car stolen. But—they wouldn’t go out and look for you until you’d been gone for twenty-four hours.”

  I think of how mangled my father’s car is and wince. “I’m sorry.”

  He crosses his arms. “I can’t wait until you have kids of your own and you wake up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and realize one of your kids has snuck out of the house. And taken your car. Jesus, Vee, you don’t even drive.”

  “Dad. I didn’t sneak out.”

  “Then what happened?” he demands.

  “Maybe we should sit down so I can explain,” I say. Sitting down might be a very good idea for this conversation.

  He eyes me warily, then follows me into the living room. I fall onto the comfy plaid couch, and he perches at the edge of his recliner.

  “Now. Tell me.”

  I take a deep breath, knowing how crazy my story is going to sound, even if I leave out any references to sliding.

  “I fell asleep in my room, listening to the radio. When I woke up, I was driving. I thought it was a dream. But then I realized it was your car, and it was all real. That’s when I . . . sort of lost control and crashed into a telephone pole.”

  “Oh. My. God.” My father lifts his hand to his mouth.

  “I’m really sorry, Dad. About the car, I mean. I don’t know what—”

  I stop talking when he rushes over and sweeps me into a hug.

  “Vee. My baby. Are you all right? Are you hurt? Let me see you.” He holds me at arm’s length and looks me over. “Your head.” He brushes my hair away from the gash and inspects it carefully. “You might need a stitch.”

  I wiggle out of his grasp. “It’s okay, really. It’s stopped bleeding.”

  My father stares. “So who drove you home?”

  “This woman who happened to be driving by.” I neglect to tell him the creepiest part, that she knew where I lived without any directions. He’s already freaked out enough as it is. Besides, I was so out of it on the car ride home, it’s possible I told her my address and don’t remember.

  “Sylvia,” my dad says firmly. “You shouldn’t have gotten into a car with a stranger. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t have my phone,” I say weakly. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “My God. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had been . . .” His voice trails off, and we avoid eye contact, each of us thinking about what could have happened.

  “You’re my heart,” he whispers, and I’m startled to see that he’s crying. I reach over and wipe away a tear that’s trickled down by the side of his mouth.

  “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m okay.”

  He manages a shaky smile.

  “Is it okay if I go up to bed now? I’m exhausted.”

  He kisses my forehead. “Of course, honey. Go get some rest.”

  I leave him alone on the couch. He doesn’t follow me up to bed. That’s good because I have no intention of resting right now. Not after the night I’ve had.

  Upstairs, my phone is right where I left it, on my nightstand. I grab it and punch in Rollins’s number. He answers before the phone even finishes its first ring. He sounds frenzied. “Vee! So glad you called. The show was so amazing. You listened, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah, you were really great. But I’m actually calling about something else . . .”

  Rollins is suddenly all business. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  I suppose I can’t blame him for assuming the worst after the craziness I put him through six months ago. I called him one night, begging him to help me save my sister from the killer who’d already murdered one of her friends.

  “I’m okay,” I say, making my voice calm, trying to reassure him. “I just . . . kind of . . . crashed my father’s car.”

  “WHAT WERE YOU DOING DRIVING YOUR DAD’S CAR?” Rollins bellows into the phone. I have to hold it a few inches away from
my ear.

  “I don’t know how to explain it. I fell asleep listening to your show. And then I thought I was having that dream again . . .” I swallow. “But it wasn’t a dream.”

  “What are you saying, Vee?”

  “I thought I was dreaming about riding in a car, but this time I was driving . . .” My breathing becomes labored as I find myself living through it all again. “I pulled the wheel to the right and went off the road. Right into a telephone pole. Slammed my head into the window.”

  “Wait. So you woke up driving your father’s car?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you think this is a symptom of your condition? Like sleepwalking or something? Sleepdriving?”

  “It’s never happened to me before,” I say, pulling at the hem of my sweatshirt. “It was so strange, how I blacked out and found myself in the car. It was almost like—”

  “Like what?”

  I shut my eyes tight, knowing how crazy I sound.

  “Like someone slid into me. Like someone forced me to get into that car.”

  I can almost see Rollins frowning. He only recently learned about my sliding. I suppose it’s a little much to expect him to believe there are others like me out there, much less those who live in Iowa City.

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” he says. “Don’t you have to be touching a physical object that someone’s imprinted on in order to slide into them? If what you’re saying is true, someone in this town with the same power as you would have had to touch something of yours to force you to take your dad’s car. And they’d need a motive to do such a thing. It just seems a little far-fetched to me.”

  “I know it doesn’t make sense. It’s just a feeling I had.”

  He rushes to say, “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I do. I’m just wondering if you’re misinterpreting exactly what happened tonight. I know you haven’t been sleeping well. Maybe you started to have that nightmare about Zane dying, but this time you acted it out. In your sleep.”

  I think about it. Rollins’s explanation seems plausible, but I just know that’s not what happened. Something deep down inside me keeps insisting that I was manipulated somehow tonight.

  “So how did you end up getting home?”

  “That’s another weird thing. This woman . . . Diane, she said her name was. She happened to be driving by and she gave me a ride home. But . . .”

  “But what?”

  “But I don’t think I gave her directions. She just seemed to know where I live.”

  Rollins digests this information. “Are you sure? You did hit your head in the accident, right? Maybe you forgot about telling her.”

  “Maybe,” I say.

  After getting off the phone with Rollins, I lie in bed with my eyes wide open for a long time.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, my phone buzzes with a text, waking me up. I glance at my alarm clock and realize I’m running late for school. Rollins will be here to pick me up any minute.

  I peek at my phone. The text is from Rollins.

  U AWAKE?

  My thumbs fly over the keypad as I respond.

  YEAH. BE READY IN 10.

  Rollins texts back that he’ll see me soon. I pull on some jeans and slide the phone into my back pocket before heading downstairs. I find my father sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper.

  “How are you feeling?” he asks. “Do you have whiplash? Feel like you want to see a doctor?”

  I grin. “I’m seeing one right now, silly.”

  The anxiety in his eyes melts away, and he snorts. “Ha. But really. How does your head feel? Any dizziness? Nausea?”

  Patting my father’s hand reassuringly, I say, “I’m fine. Promise.”

  I sit down at the table, and my father pushes a glass of orange juice my way. I drink half of it in one long gulp.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. I know you don’t want to go to a doctor, but if this is a new symptom, we should really get you checked out. We can’t have you sleepdriving at night. You could have been killed.”

  Sleepdriving. Is that even a thing?

  “I seriously think it was a fluke, Dad. But if it makes you feel better, you can lock me in my room at night.”

  He rolls his eyes. “I might take you up on that. Now can you tell me where I might find my car?”

  “It’s a little off Highway 6. About five miles south of town,” I say, remembering the road signs I encountered on my hike.

  “Ugggggggggggggggggggggggh.” My sister shuffles into the room, looking even more disheveled than I feel this morning. She must have been having nightmares about dead girls again. “Thank God it’s Friday.” Mattie grabs a coffee cup and fills it to the brim. I look on with envy. Perhaps I could have just a little caffeine to get through today. I’m operating on about three hours of sleep.

  But before I have a chance to act on my impulse, I hear a car pull into our driveway, the radio so loud I can hear the opening notes of a Chevelle song from where I sit.

  “Rollins is here,” I tell my dad. I gulp the rest of my orange juice and stand up. “Are you riding with us today?” I ask Mattie.

  She nods and takes another sip of coffee before dumping the rest down the sink. Something in me dies a little as I watch the black deliciousness swirl down the drain.

  “You sure you’re okay, Vee?” my dad asks.

  “Yeah. Totally fine. If I start to feel sick, I’ll go to the nurse. Okay?”

  Reluctantly, he agrees. I swoop down to give him a quick kiss and then dart out the door with Mattie following close behind.

  Rollins doesn’t even wait for me to fasten my seat belt before he starts in on me. “How are you this morning, Vee? Are you sure you should go to school?”

  Mattie drops into the seat behind me. “Dude, why is everyone so concerned about you today?”

  Rollins throws me a curious glance. “You didn’t tell her?”

  I shrug. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “What’s not a big deal?” Mattie asks. In the rearview mirror, I see her checking her cell phone. She’s obviously very worried about my well-being.

  “Oh, nothing. I just totaled Dad’s car in the middle of the night.”

  I probably shouldn’t get so much satisfaction from the shocked look my sister gives me. “What? How did that happen? Are you okay?”

  Feeling sort of bad for springing my accident on Mattie, I turn around to face her. “Calm down, Matt. Look at me. I’m all in one piece.” I make a split-second decision not to tell her about the whole driving-while-sleeping thing and the bizarre encounter with the woman, because she looks so alarmed already. At least, I’ll stay quiet for now. “Don’t worry. It’s no big deal.”

  When I turn to face the front, Rollins gives me a questioning look. I mouth the word later at him and then fiddle with the radio. He growls and swats my hand away. Melting back into my seat, I welcome the normalcy of the scene. Rollins, rocking out behind the wheel. Mattie, in the back, scrutinizing a text message on her phone.

  Then there’s me, wondering if there was someone else in my head last night.

  An impostor.

  Chapter Six

  There’s a girl waiting for Rollins at his locker. She’s curvy with black, choppy hair and a tattoo that runs the full length of her right arm. As we come near, I let my gaze trace over the tattoo. It’s full color and totally gorgeous, a depiction of Alice from Alice in Wonderland chasing the white rabbit. The girl’s eyes light up when she sees Rollins.

  “Aw, hey.” Rollins gives the girl a hug. Jealousy prickles up my spine. He turns toward me. “Vee, this is Anna. She’s been training me at the radio station.”

  I lift my face to hers and somehow manage a smile. The most distinctive feature of Anna’s face is her eyes, which are the most startling purple color with eyelashes that seem to go on for miles. I wonder if she’s wearing contacts because I’ve never seen eyes that color before. She’s wearing a lacy baby-doll dress over rainbow-s
triped tights and combat boots.

  She is everything that I am not.

  Suddenly I start to feel sick, remembering the song Rollins played last night. I’d kind of assumed he was thinking of me when he played it. But what if, the whole time Dave Grohl was singing, Rollins had been staring at this beautiful girl? The thought is so uncomfortable, I banish it from my mind. I am the one he loves. He told me as much that night he rescued me from the fire. True, that was six months ago, but still—could his feelings have changed that much?

  “Hi, Vee,” Anna says, holding out her hand to shake mine. I pump perhaps too vigorously and then feel like an idiot.

  “Hello,” I say. “Cool tattoo.”

  Can she hear the envy in my voice?

  She touches her arm gently. “Thanks. The artist is a good friend of mine. If you ever want to get a tat, let me know. I can get you a special deal.”

  Rollins laughs. “I don’t think Vee is exactly a tattoo kind of girl.”

  I scowl at him. “I like tattoos. Why would you think I’m not into them?” I turn to Anna. “I used to have pink hair, you know. I only recently dyed it back because . . . because I was bored with it.”

  I don’t know why I said that. I guess it’s because I feel out of place somehow. Anna and Rollins just look like they belong together with their piercings and tattoos. And then there’s me . . . former preppy cheerleader turned narcoleptic slider.

  Anna nods politely. “Well, Rollins, I’ll catch you tomorrow night if I don’t see you before then.” She disappears into the crowd.

  I stuff my hands into my pockets so Rollins won’t see how my fingernails are digging into my palms. “She seems nice,” I say in a strained voice.

  “Oh, yeah. She’s really cool. Knows her music, too.”

  “Oh.” I don’t dare say anything else, in case the jealousy I’m feeling will come through in my words. How can I be feeling jealous? This is Rollins, my best friend. Of course he can have another friend. He should have other friends. I’m so ridiculous sometimes.