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Keanu exhales loudly but does pull up the hood, then reaches for the door handle. “Let’s get this over with.”

He gets out of the car, and I do the same, but he has to wait for me, because he doesn’t know where Flora lives. I walk ahead of him. If someone recognizes me, and they see us together, hell, we’ll be all over the tabloids. That’s something I must avoid at all costs. My last relationship was scrutinized to the umpteenth degree by the media, and it ended badly when my douche ex’s unfaithfulness was exposed online, and I found out at the same time the entire world did. Now the tabloids are thirsty to see what my next move will be. Meaning, who I’ll date next so they can pick that relationship apart too.

Flora lives in a small, one-bedroom apartment above a shop that specializes in the occult. The owner, Ophelia, also does palm reading, tarot card reading, etc. Flora works there sometimes because she loves that stuff. I’ve been to the shop once, and to Flora’s place a couple of times.

I press the intercom button to her apartment and wait on pins and needles. I didn’t want to say anything to Keanu, but Flora should have replied to my text by now. It’s not her MO to ghost anyone. I wait a few beats, then press the intercom button again.

“Great. She isn’t home. What now, Leigh?”

“Shhh. Lower your voice.”

“Lower my voice.” He laughs in derision. “Who’s going to hear me? There’s no one around.”

I look over my shoulder and spot a few pedestrians. No one is around, my ass. But they aren’t paying attention to us.

I try the intercom again. When that yields nothing, I call Flora. It goes straight to voicemail.

Where the hell is she?

Keanu starts to pace. “Great. That’s just great.”

“Let’s check the store,” I say.

“Is it even open?”

I ignore him and stride toward the shop’s entrance. The sign on the door says it’s closed, but the owner might be there. I press my forehead to the glass and block the morning light with my hands. But it’s too dark inside, and I can’t tell if anyone’s in there. Standing straight, I knock as hard as I can.

“Careful not to break the glass with my hand!” Keanu complains.

“Please. I didn’t hit it that hard.”

“Your ‘not that hard’ is damn hard in my body,” he grumbles.

While we’re locked in a glowering contest, the door opens, and Ophelia asks, “May I help you?”

She doesn’t know who Keanu is, and my features are hidden by the hoodie and the glasses he insisted on wearing. By some miracle, I don’t need to tell him to reveal himself. He steps forward, lowering the hoodie. “We’re looking for Flora.”

Ophelia’s eyes widen in recognition. “Leigh. I didn’t know it was you. Come in, come in.” She opens the door wider to let us through.

I take a step forward, then catch myself and stop, letting Keanu walk in first. I’m in his body, after all, and he’s a total stranger to Ophelia.

He glances at everything with curiosity as if it’s his first time coming here. Technically, it is, but Ophelia doesn’t know we’ve switched bodies, so I hope he doesn’t do anything that’ll seem odd.

The shop is dark and overfilled with stuff. The aisles are narrow because there are so many shelves, filled with all sorts of merchandise linked to the occult. My favorite section is the one with the voodoo dolls. I wonder if I should buy one to use against Keanu. But since I’m him, I’d probably feel every pain I inflicted.

“So, do you know where Flora is?” I ask.

“Ah, yes, she left for a retreat last night. It was last-minute, but she was excited to go.”

Keanu whirls around. “A retreat where?”

Ophelia pinches her chin. “Peru, I think. She told me, but my memory has been shoddy lately.”

My stomach bottoms out. There goes our best hope of fixing this mess. Flora is the only person I trust with the truth.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Keanu blurts out, then looks at me. “What are we gonna do now?”

I feel dizzy, so I lean against one of the shelves on the aisle and hope I don’t pass out again. Ophelia approaches, furrowing her brows. “Are you all right, dear?”