With his hands on my shoulders, I felt like my knees might buckle. Like I might not be able to stand without him holding me up. I clutched at him, one hand on his arm, the other clutching at his waist. I wanted to bury my face in his neck, but I didn't.

"I don't know. I told him to stay back. I--" I shook my head, but in the distance, I could hear the kid calling to us.

Taking a step back, I kept one hand on Derek's arm, afraid that he might vanish again if I wasn't hanging on. I pulled out my cell phone, but the screen was pixelated, the numbers on the clock flickering at random.

It was so, so quiet.