June 5, 1996

It finally happened! Mom's attorney called and said that I'll be moving in with my dad next week. Mom is furious but I don't care. I need to get away from here. I need to start over somewhere else. Besides, it's not like she's ever around anyway. She has her own stuff going on not that she knows I'm aware of it. I'll deal with that later. Or maybe I won't. Does it even matter anymore? Once I'm out of here I can start over and put all the lies behind me. I think maybe everything is finally going to be ok.

Cameron and Andra were standing on the sidewalk outside the diner at seven a.m. Shoulder to shoulder they watched in companionable silence as the sun began to make an appearance over the roofs of the shops that lined the town's main thoroughfare. The last slivers of fog skittered aimlessly across the pavement of the empty street in a fruitless attempt to hide in the last remaining shadows that existed ahead of the sunrise. Along the sidewalks, a few early risers casually strolled sipping cups of coffee or gazing into the shop windows. They spoke in hushed reverent tones better suited to cathedrals and libraries than Main Street. The solemn atmosphere only served to heighten Andra's already increasing anxiety.

After waking from her strange vision the night before she had immediately called Cameron. She hesitated to call it a dream mainly due to the tiny silver bracelet now nesting comfortably in the pocket of her favorite jeans. She could barely bring herself to touch it because it, like the diary, always seemed to feel a few degrees cooler than what was normal.

Her conversation with Cameron hadn't gone at all as she had expected. He was insistent that they should talk to Melanie about what had happened. Cameron thought the only possible explanation was that Savannah was clearing her best friend and ex-boyfriend by corroborating their story from beyond the grave. Andra couldn't disagree but the idea of telling Melanie made her a little sick to her stomach.

What would Melanie think? What if she finally decided that Andra and Cameron were completely crazy and decided to cancel this entire field trip? Melanie had been open to everything that they had to say up until this point. Would this be the straw that broke the camel's back? They ended their conversation without any kind of resolution.

Cameron had been friendly enough this morning however having slipped into the diner before Andra arrived and buying them both coffee. He had immediately drained his but Andra sipped hers thoughtfully clutching it to her chest between sips like it was the only object anchoring her to the planet. They were still standing this way when a black SUV pulled up and rolled down the window. "Hey guys," Melanie called reaching across the seat and pushing the passenger door open. "You ready?"

Cameron gave Andra his best reassuring smile before holding the passenger door for her. They were both eager to get off the street. Andra's mom had left for work early but Cameron's parents were under the impression that he was taking Andra on a sightseeing road trip before school started. He had left the details intentionally vague so he wouldn't necessarily have to lie. Even so, it was a pretty safe bet that they wouldn't be comfortable with him leaving town with a strange adult to visit a psychiatric hospital.

Once Andra was safely inside he closed the door and slid into the back seat directly behind her. She could hear him shuffling around as Melanie pulled away from the curb and started out of town.

They rode along in awkward silence putting Inglewood far behind them. Andra was lost in her own thoughts when Cameron leaned forward over her shoulder causing her to jump. "Are you going to tell Melanie what happened last night or should I?" Andra shot him a withering look and he shrugged and slid back into his seat.

"What happened last night?" Melanie asked. Andra threw another angry glance in Cameron's direction turning and peering over the seat to do so. He shrugged and gave her his most innocent smile. She made a mental note to happily strangle him when they returned home later.

"It's kind of a long story," Andra answered hesitantly. She knew exactly how crazy this story was going to sound and she wasn't overly thrilled about sharing it.

"We have time," Melanie assured her. "We're over an hour away from the facility where Gloria lives." Andra fidgeted nervously unconsciously running her hand over her pocket where her latest gift from Savannah resided.

Taking a deep breath she launched into her account of the night before. She spoke quickly not looking at Melanie or Cameron but out through the windshield as she described exactly what she had seen. She left nothing out. When she was done the car fell into silence as Andra ventured her first glance at Melanie trying to judge her expression. She just looked thoughtful.

"And you're sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Nope, it was way too real."

"I dreamt of my wedding before right down to the first dance and the flowers. It felt so real but considering that I wasn't Mrs. Brad Pitt when I woke up I'm fairly certain it was all a dream." Melanie said giving her a soft smile to let her know she wasn't being rude. "All I'm saying is that it isn't uncommon to have vivid dreams and no one could blame you considering the subject matter yesterday."

Andra gnawed at her bottom lip frustrated. She had guessed this might happen. She turned to Melanie looking directly at her. "You were wearing light cut-off jeans and sandals and a black tee-shirt that said No Fear across the front. Greg was wearing a jersey and jeans. His jersey was purple with the number 14 across the back. Savannah had on a coral tank top with a white button-up shirt and jeans."

Melanie did a double-take her mouth partially open. Andra knew she had gotten it right. The shock was written all over Melanie's face. Before she could recover Andra slid a hand into the pocket of her jeans and retrieved the little bracelet shivering at its cool touch as her fingers gripped it tightly. "There was also this," Andra said holding it up to the light where they could all see it glinting in the early morning sun pouring in through the windshield.

Melanie made a choking sound in the back of her throat and pulled off to the side of the road. "Can I see that please?" Andra handed it to her happy to be rid of it.

"Do you recognize it?"

"I do." She answered quietly wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "I gave it to her for her sixteenth birthday. She never took it off even when we were barely speaking. She was wearing it the day they buried her."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive," Melanie answered. "I put it on her myself."

The car fell into silence neither of the teens knowing what to say to the grown woman in the driver's seat in so much pain. Cameron was the first to speak sliding forward and placing a hand on Melanie's shoulder. " I think she showed Andra what she did to make sure we believed you. She was letting her know that your story was true."

"That sounds about right," Melanie said brushing at her face again. "She was always looking out for Greg and me."

"Even now apparently," Cameron said. 

"I hope you're right." She smiled up at him still unsure.

"The fact that you're the one that gave her this makes me even more certain. She wanted you to know she was here." Melanie nodded smiling again a little more convincingly this time and then took a moment to collect herself before pulling back out onto the road.

"Was that all of it?" She said glancing over at Andra.

"Yeah pretty much. I saw the fight between her and Greg and I saw everybody leave. What I didn't see was who she met with. The first time I saw her she was at the top of the steps that came up from the water. She was already looking for you. No one followed her up. Was there another way out from the riverbank?"

Melanie thought for a second then nodded quickly. "There was a boat ramp that a lot of the fisherman used. It had its own parking lot and everything. You could put your boat in at the ramp or if you felt like walking there was a path off to the left that dropped down to an open portion of the bank. If you followed it a little way down you would come to the steps that led up to the bluffs."

"Ok," Cameron said. "So what we're saying is that there's a better than average chance that whoever Savannah met that night came in and left by the boat ramp?"

"It sounds that way to me," Melanie answered. "That definitely points to it being someone who lived around there though. No one from out of town would have even known the path was there and probably not about the bluffs either. The bluffs started as a kind of touristy lookout spot."

Andra remembered the images Savannah had shown here the night before and the still water sparkling through the trees. What Melanie said made sense. The view was gorgeous at night it must have been really spectacular during the daytime.

"As you can tell," Melanie continued, "the tourism industry never really took off for Inglewood considering what a small town it is. The locals were the only people that knew about the place and most of them have lived here so long that they took it for granted. It became the perfect hangout for a bunch of high school kids looking to have a good time away from prying eyes. No one ever went out there but us."

"That at least narrows our suspect pool down a little," Cameron said hopefully.

"Not enough though," Andra answered.

"Can I ask what may be a stupid question?" Melanie said glancing at Andra.

"Yeah sure."

"If she can show all this why can't she just come out and tell you who hurt her? Why all the mind games? Why not just show you what happened to her the night she died?"

"To be honest I've wondered the same thing," Andra answered frankly. "I wish she would. It would make helping her so much easier. I can only guess that she has some type of plan but whatever it is she's keeping it to herself."

"Ah, a ghost with a plan," Cameron said in his best spooky voice. "My very favorite kind. How devious!"

Andra swatted playfully at him and he grabbed her hand before she could make contact. As he intertwined his fingers with hers she felt the skin of her face flush. She hoped that it wasn't as obvious as she felt it was. Turning to look at him their eyes met and the corner of his mouth twitched up into a tiny smile. He mouthed one single word at her. Sorry. She nodded returning the smile. Reassuring him. Knowing that she had forgiven him miles ago.

He had been right. Of course, he was. This thing with Savannah had gotten inside her head and she wasn't thinking clearly. She found herself increasingly worried that she was losing herself somehow. They needed to figure out who Savannah had been with that night and end this sooner rather than later.

"Well, I guess I should ask how much you guys know about Gloria?" Melanie asked interrupting Andra's inner dialogue.

"Not a lot just that she was Savannah's mom and that their relationship was a little strained."

Melanie chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." A note of sarcasm colored her words. "Anyway the hospital is about twenty minutes away now. I guess I should probably fill you two in on what you're walking into and what led up to it."

"Alright then," Cameron said. "Let story time begin."