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I hesitate, a memory flashing through my mind immediately. Ash. The way he used to look at me when I wore red. My stomach twists at the sudden thought.

‘Bryn,’ Elodie presses. ‘Try it.’

I take the dress. ‘Fine.’

The fitting rooms are at the back of the store, separated by thick curtains instead of walls. Stepping inside one, I pull the curtain closed behind me. For a moment, I just stand there, holding the dress up against myself, before I place it on the stool and begin to undress, pulling my top over my head then sliding my jeans down my legs. The air feels cool against my bare skin. My eyes sweep over my reflection. A strange feeling crawls up my spine, as though I’m being watched.

I look toward the small gap in the curtain, and for a brief second, I swear I see something: a tall figure, standing unnervingly still, behind a dark mask. The very same mask I saw in the haunted maze, but instead, there is no gothic makeup underneath. It’s just the mask between me and him.

A rush of heat floods me, my pulse roaring suddenly loud in my head. For a moment I can’t move, can’t even breathe properly, locked between panic and something else I don’t quite understand.

That’s impossible.

My body reacts anyway. Heat spreads across my skin, and something dark and confusing curls in my stomach. Why does part of me … like this? Why does the danger make my heart race in a way that isn’t entirely fearful? What is wrong with me? I swallow, unable to tear my eyes away from the mask.

‘This is weird,’ I whisper under my breath, forcing myself to move forward. Slowly, I push the curtain open wider. The other fitting room is empty, and so is the hallway. There is no masked figure. There is no one watching. Just a shop assistant walking toward me, brows knitted together.

‘Hi,’ she says gently. ‘Is everything okay?’

I blink, feeling uncentered for a moment, my heart still pounding. ‘Yeah,’ I say slowly, mentally shaking myself.

I glance around once more, confirming there is no one else here. The worker smiles politely. Stepping back inside the small fitting room, I ease the curtain closed again. My hands tremble slightly as I put the red dress on over my head. My mind keeps circling the same thought.

Did that really just happen, or was it all in my head?

I turn toward the mirror. The red is striking against my skin and doesn’t seem to clash with my hair. For a second, I hear Ash’s voice in my head again.

You look good in red.

‘Bryn?’ Elodie calls from outside the curtain. ‘Are you alive in there?’

Exhaling, I force myself back to the present. ‘I’m fine,’ I call back.

‘Come out then,’ she says. ‘We need to judge.’

Taking another shaky breath, I pull the curtain open. Elodie’s eyes immediately light up.

‘Oh my God.’

Tess looks up from the rack she’s browsing through, and her expression softens. ‘That’s really nice,’ she says.

‘Nice?’ Elodie scoffs dramatically. ‘It’s criminal how good that looks on you.’

Heat creeps up my cheeks.

Tess tilts her head thoughtfully. ‘You look confident in it,’ she says.

I glance down at myself. ‘I’ll get it,’ I say, before I can overthink it.

‘Victory. Now we just have to find a dress for me, which I’m starting to think is impossible at this point.’

‘You’ve tried on three,’ Tess says mildly.

‘Three terrible ones.’

‘You said the green one was “acceptable”.’

‘Acceptable is not birthday worthy,’ Elodie insists, already turning back toward the racks.