"I'll just be gone for the summer, Cass, but it seems like forever." We're two teenagers, walking along the river, hands entwined as we fight back tears.

"I would write to you every day if... if... this whole situation wasn't so crazy." I sigh in exasperation. He's leaving on a mission with his dad, to help the poor in a faraway place. We can't count on Internet or even much phone service while he's there. So, we're prepared for this clean break – at least for two months. Once he's back, everything will be just like it is right now. Well, actually happier because he won't be leaving again.

We turn to face each other, and his eyes look stormier than ever. My tears spill over, dripping down my cheeks one by one. He pulls me into his arms, and his lips are on mine. I wish this could last forever, but it won't.

And then we're kissing goodbye. We're at the airport. I'm sobbing, letting all my tears flow because once I'm back home, I've got to stay calm. Gran doesn't know about this secret romance. She thinks fifteen is too early for it. I just roll my eyes and say it's a generational thing.

"I love you," he whispers.

But I'm choking on tears and can't reply.

"Hey, I've got to go. But don't worry, it'll go by fast." He's walking toward security, and I'm blinking back tears.

And then I find my voice.

"Sky," I call out. "I love you too."

**

My heart is beating double time as I retrace steps from the other day, steps back to Sky's place. I'd been planning to go back, to tell him how things turned out and thank him again. But today, the whole situation is different. I woke up from a dream that wasn't just a dream. It was a key that started to unlock the past. Now I need the rest of the story.

It's the crack of dawn so I'm pretty much alone on this path through the city. I don't worry about waking Sky up because I know he's been trying to lead me here – to him. This dream, like the others, is one he planted in my mind. But unlike the other dreams that were sometimes symbolic, to warn me of this or that or show me he was on my side, this dream was a mini movie of something that actually had happened. This is a memory. One that had been stolen from me. The realization hits me hard, nearly knocking the wind out of me as I approach Sky's building.

How? Memory stealers can't steal memories from memory chasers. We can't be their victims. Unless your guard is down. Those words echo through my head over and over, in Nol's voice. When had she said that? I squeeze my eyes shut and think back, long, long ago. I'd overheard her, talking with someone about our business. And yes, she'd said that. If a memory stealer gets close to you, and you let your guard down, he or she can work his dark magic.

"Any interesting dreams?"

His voice makes its way to me through the shadows, and I jump, then my heart leaps as I see him. All of those forgotten feelings rush into my heart, and now I know there is a second soulmate story within reach. My own. My story with Sky.

"What are you doing out here?" I whisper as I reach him, and our hands connect.

"I figured you'd be here soon. But I was afraid you'd turn away before making it upstairs."

"Why would I do that?"

"You weren't exactly delighted to know I was manipulating your dreams."

"That was then," I say.

"Wanna come up?"

I nod and follow him. He's wearing a pair of gray pajama bottoms, and his hair is just as rumpled as his T-shirt. He's been sleeping too. Did we both share this dream, then wake up?

He serves us coffee, and we sit out on the balcony. The sun is still in bed, but the sky is turning golden, ready to welcome it.

"What really happened, Sky?" I ask. "And will I ever get those stolen memories back?"

"I'm not an expert when it comes to memories, Cass. Dreams are my business. But you know the person to ask for that."

"My mother."

"Yes."

I take a long sip of coffee, feeling the bittersweet roast, then sink back in my chair and study him. He is the one. My soulmate. My heart is pounding wildly. I want to know our story. So I ask him.

"I thought you'd never ask." He grins almost shyly.

Our hands connect again, and I revel in the warmth.

"Some people might say we were too young for real love, but I saw just the opposite. We were at the perfect age, when love is all that matters and the rest of the world can't get in the way," he says. "We'd been together for the whole school year. My parents knew about our thing, but your family didn't know. You said they wouldn't understand, thought you were too young. So we kept it a secret."

"Did I know about your powers, with dreams, and did you know about mine?" I ask.

He nods. "That's how we met. At a convention for all of us at the end of summer. We really connected, but we got separated by the crowd and that was that. The next day, we found each other in the same high school history class."

I try to think back, try to grasp this memory. But I can't. So I listen and allow his words to carry me away.

"We hit it off a second time, started hanging out together, and things moved pretty quickly. Then came summer vacation, and as you saw in that dream, my trip pulled us apart for what was supposed to be only a couple of months."

"Did you not come back? Did you move away or something?"

"No. I came back two weeks into the school year. And you had completely forgotten about me – and everyone in school who knew we were together had forgotten about it too. So I stepped back, stayed away from you."

"This wasn't forgetting in the sense of moving on," I say. "Someone stole my memory – and the memory of everyone else who could have been a witness of our relationship. Right?"

Sky nods, his eyes darkening.

"Logan did this," I murmur. "He's been manipulating me ever since. But why?"

"He's been trying to get you out of the game for a very long time, Cass."

"I'm not that good! There are other memory catchers out there who—"

"You are that good, Cass. And so was your mother and others in your family. You come from a long line of memory catchers. Very talented ones. Logan knew that, and he also knew that you were kind and trusting."

I snort. "More like naïve and foolish."

"No. You were vulnerable. Look, I took off, and you hung out with him all summer."

"How do you know that?"

Sky is silent for a few minutes, shakes his head, then runs his hands through his unruly hair.

"Because he was my best friend. He stole that memory from you too."

"What?" My heart is beating double time again as I wonder exactly how much of my memory has been wiped away.

"I didn't know he was on... on that side... until I came back and saw that you didn't even know who I was. You literally looked at me like I was a complete stranger, then brushed me aside and kept walking down the hall with your friends. And then I saw you with Logan in the cafeteria, side by side and laughing. At first, he tried to deny this whole business, but finally, he had to admit it."

"Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you try to tell me then?"

"Would you have believed me, Cass? A complete stranger versus Logan, one of your closest friends."

My heart sinks. He's right. Of course, I wouldn't have believed him. Logan had orchestrated the perfect scenario to destroy Sky and me as well as my powers.

"What made you try now? What made you find your way into my dreams when you didn't so many years ago?"

"I wasn't powerful enough back then," Sky says. "I tried, but unless you have memories of dreams of me that you ignored, I guess I wasn't very successful."

I smile grimly. "I don't."

"I worked on my abilities, moved away, got stronger, and then, not too long ago, realized I'd reached that level needed to take action. So I came back here and told myself I would work through your dreams until I could lead you to the truth."

"Did you want me back?" I murmur, feeling heat rise into my face. Our lips are close now, our coffee scents mingling. "It's been a while."

He doesn't answer. Instead, his lips meet mine. It feels new and yet familiar at the same time. I don't remember the story yet, but my body and soul remember the feeling.