In Zed's arms, I caved immediately. Never would I have ever even considered allowing a guy to get away with something like this, but I didn't seem to have a very firm grasp on my own mental state. My heart was hammering awkwardly in my chest and excited shivers raced down my spine to the small of my back, where I could feel Zed's warm hands pressing me into him. Arms tightly in place around his shoulders, my lips moved against his without a single thought or misgiving. I didn't even consider how disastrous this could be, holding him like he was my one and only lifeline. In the matter of seconds, I'd gone from despising him to needing him more than I needed oxygen.

He broke away slowly, leaving me breathless and subconsciously leaning into him. Kissing my forehead softly, I could feel him start to smile cautiously, his hold on me tightening a fraction. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this was a bad idea. Worse than bad, even. But I couldn't bring myself to push him away. Not yet. However selfish it was, I wanted just one moment with my soulfinder without worrying or panicking about what all of this meant. Determined to remember every tiny detail, I buried my face into the side of his neck, focusing on the way his hold seemed to warm me from the inside out, the smell of the cologne he was wearing and the way the kiss he pressed against my temple sent inviting shudders down my spine.

"I knew it was you," he muttered in my ear. "The moment I saw you, I knew it was you." My eyebrows pulled together slightly, but I said nothing, tightening my arms around his shoulders. He chuckled dryly. "God, you drive me crazy."

"I know the feeling," I mumbled back.

"Well, I'm sorry," he said, leaning back to look down at me. It took a moment for me to muster the courage to meet his gaze, and once I had, I found myself almost lost in the glistening deep blues and greens swirling in his eyes. "When I found out you were Alex's twin and his birthday was only a week after mine, I almost dragged you out of school to talk. Then I heard you didn't want to meet me, and I didn't take it very well."

"I noticed."

My chest was starting to tighten in panic. Knowing my one and only moment with my soulfinder was over much quicker than I'd hoped, I bit the inside of my lip and unwound my arms from his shoulders. Unaware of what was starting to happen, he took a small step back, his eyes still shining as his hands slid to my hips tauntingly.

"I can't believe it's actually you," I murmured, my mouth dry. The mixture of pure joy and heart-breaking, soul crushing devastation was beginning to overwhelm me, and it was starting to feel like I couldn't breathe.

Slowly, Zed frowned and moved forward again. "Is something wrong?"

Wincing through my teeth, I pushed myself away, far enough that his hands dropped from my hips and left me feeling alone and cold. His expression shifted again, and an irritation much worse than any anger he'd felt toward me previously seemed to take over. "I – I'm sorry, Zed, I – I can't," I stammered quietly, shaking my head and taking another few steps backwards.

"What?" he breathed with a short, misplaced laugh. "Grace, you're my soulfinder!"

"Exactly," I gulped awkwardly. How was I supposed to explain to him that the reason we were supposed to spend the rest of our lives together was the one reason I had to stay away from him?

"Grace?"

I jumped at the sound of Alex's voice, my heart seizing tightly. My brother stood in the doorway to the police station, his eyes drifting between me and Zed cautiously. His nose looked like it had been busted, but he barely noticed, shifting slightly like he wasn't sure whether he should be defending me or leaving to give Zed and me some privacy.

Gulping hard, I started to move toward him. "We need to go," I muttered at him shakily, keeping my eyes as far away from Zed as I could manage.

"Grace, wait!" The sound of his pained voice made me flinch, but Zed had barely started moving before Alex bolted forward, standing in front of me with his arm out to separate us. Making the mistake of glancing in Zed's direction, my chest felt like it was trying to crush my heart as punishment for hurting him.

"She said we're leaving," Alex frowned at him, his voice perfectly level.

Zed glowered, his fists tightening at his sides as the door to the station reception opened again. I didn't look to check, but I was almost sure that it was Zed's family. "I suppose this is exactly what you wanted," he snarled at my brother and a lump formed in my throat.

Alex barely blinked, for once not rising to the bait. "Not at all," he answered calmly. "For what's it worth, I'm sorry it's come to this. But if she wants to leave, we're leaving."

There was a moments silence, in which all I could do was stare at the back of Alex's jacket and hope I didn't throw up. "You can't ignore this, Grace," Zed muttered.

When I didn't – or rather couldn't – say anything, Alex sighed heavily and took me by the shoulders. Without another word, he grimaced at the Benedicts and led me through the car park, not daring to look back even once to see if they were following us.

He didn't say anything for a long time, letting me gulp down the freezing cold night air in a vain attempt to calm me down. My lips were still tingling after Zed's kiss, and just thinking about it made me want to turn back and tell him there'd been a huge mistake. But I couldn't do that. Instead, I fixed my eyes to my feet and watched them pound the pavement below, trusting Alex to steer me in the right direction.

Eventually though, Alex broke the silence. "Do I even want to know what happened back there?" he asked in a quiet voice.

I felt myself scoff weakly. "He kissed me," I admitted softly. "He figured out I was his soulfinder, and he . . . kissed me."

There was a long silence. "Gracie, I'm sorry," he muttered. "I don't know what got into me, I . . . I just snapped. And he was stood there, talking with this cheerleader-" He broke off, wincing through his teeth like he didn't want to finish the rest of his sentence. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less. Whoever the cheerleader was, whatever she'd been talking to Zed about, she meant little to nothing to me. I didn't even care enough to be jealous.

"You don't need to apologise, Alex," I replied sourly. "I cracked. After weeks of being so careful to avoid him, I cracked, and now I have no idea what I'm going to do next." Alex couldn't find the words to comfort me after that, so we walked the rest of the way home in silence.

When we finally got back, Cassandra was home. She'd chucked her shoes by the door, and we found her slouched over the breakfast bar with a large glass of red wine wryly. But, the moment she caught sight of the two of us, she shook herself awake, scowling angrily. "What the hell happened to you two?" she barked.

I didn't even have the energy to get annoyed that she'd left the hospital after I'd explicitly told her not to. The rush of unfamiliar emotions was still weighing me down, crushing my chest and terrifying me from the inside out. Without so much as a word to either of them, I turned and took the stairs two at a time, slipping into my bedroom and shutting the door behind me. I lay flat out on my bed, staring at the ceiling as I tried to collect my thoughts but it was no good. All I knew was that Zed was my soulfinder, and I was never allowed to see him again.

What hurt more was knowing that he wouldn't give up so easily, and every time he got close I'd only have to push him away again.

I could hear Alex and Cassandra having a deep conversation downstairs, and though I couldn't make out any of what was being said, I knew it was about me and Zed. Taking several ragged breaths, I fumbled through my CD collection for something to distract me. Choosing the heaviest rock band I could find, I shoved the CD into the stereo and cranked the volume up as loud as I could stand it.

I wasn't sure how long it took me to get to sleep that night, but I vaguely remember Cassandra sneaking in to turn my music off while I slept. My dreams were strange and confusing, all of course, centring around Zed Benedict. The lingering sensation of his lips against mine still haunted me, and I woke with a start, almost sure I could feel his arms wrapped around me. Staring around the room with the slow realisation that he was as far away from me as ever, my throat closed and I had to choke back a startling wave of tears.

Crying never helped anyone, Gracie, I scolded myself, repeating a mantra I hadn't heard in a long time. When I was a little girl, my mother used to say it to me when I'd fallen and hurt myself or I was upset. She'd just pull me onto her lap and hold me close, whispering softly to me and telling jokes to make me laugh. She knew my father didn't like me crying. He'd shout and tell me it was a sign of weakness, and when you were three years old, that only made you cry harder.

For almost fifteen minutes, I simply sat upright in my bed, scanning around the room while I waited for myself to calm down. A soft light was shining through the large window to the left, and having fell asleep fully clothed on top of my sheets, they still looked crisp and fresh, with only the small imprint of my form to suggest that anything had changed. The wooden floor was worn and worn, and the walls were painted a clean, fresh white.

Pursing my lips, I pushed myself to the edge of my bed and stumbled to my feet, ignoring the strange, lightheaded feeling and slowly making my way to the window. Setting it open, I allowed the cold morning air to rush over my skin for a few minutes before pushing myself away from the ledge and snatching a towel and some fresh clothes out of my closet on my way to the bathroom.

Showering and getting dressed, I headed downstairs for breakfast with an impending sense of doom. Even as I took the stairs, I could hear Alex and Cassandra muttering amongst themselves again, but I didn't dare try to figure out what they were talking about. The thought that Alex could have finally caved and confessed to Cassandra just how serious our situation was made me slightly nauseous. So instead, I skipped down the last stairs as noisily as possible and scooped my damp hair into a messy bun.

In the kitchen, Cassandra was cooking breakfast and for the first time, Alex was slouched at the breakfast bar, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he spoke with her quietly. Clearing my throat, I tried to dismiss the unusual pity in their eyes and moved to take the seat beside Alex.

After an awkward moment's silence, Cassandra coughed. "I'm making pancakes," she told me in her usual, stern tone. "Would you like some?"

Though my stomach twisted at the thought of food, I nodded. "Please."

Alex seemed a little uncomfortable with my sudden politeness, squirming as he glanced sideways at me. "So," he started with a grimace. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Queasy," I admitted with a small shrug. "Tired." Empty. Devastated. Terrified. He could have taken his pick.

"Well, Cassandra needs a hand in the stables this morning," he continued, and my gaze dropped as the woman herself placed a plate of pancakes in front of me with a bottle of maple syrup, trying incredibly hard not to look irritated. I knew she'd never normally even admit to needing help, letting alone accepting any from me.

"I'm sure she'll manage," I shrugged without looking at either of them. "It's Sunday, Alex. I have plans."

He shifted, frowning at me slightly. He'd known since the start of the week that I was supposed to be spending the day shopping in Denver with Louisa and Sara. "Yeah, I know, but I thought you'd want to give it miss today, you know, just until you get everything sorted."

"Sorted?"

When he just gave me a strange look, Cassandra sighed heavily with a roll of her eyes and leant on the breakfast bar opposite me. "He means you've had a shock," she told me bluntly. "And it's only natural that it would take a while for you to get back on track."

I stared at her blankly, and it wasn't until she turned away from get Alex's pancakes that I shook myself awake again. "I'm fine," I lied. "I just want to carry on as normal."

Beside me, Alex straightened out. "What are you going to do tomorrow? Zed won't carry on acting like nothing's changed, Grace. He isn't ever going to give up."

I wasn't sure if the thought thrilled or scared me. I had to clear my throat before I could talk. "I can't avoid him forever. It's not like I can drop out of high school, is it?"

"A few days won't hurt," he argued with a shrug. "Besides, I could do with a day off."

I snorted, shooting him a dark look. "I'm glad my life's little dramas get you out of school."

"Not what I meant, Gracie," he winced. "Look, if you don't want to help Cassie out at the stables, we can do something else? We could head into Aspen for a movie? Wait until school's started and hit the slopes?"

"The Benedicts run the slopes, and you've just attacked their youngest son," I scowled at him.

"I highly doubt they are going to complain if you want some time to get things sorted."

"Oh, so now you're trying to use me to get around his parents?" I snarled. My anger was suddenly back in full force and I could feel my body start to shake. Sure I could feel my blood starting to boil, I pushed my plate away and jumped to my feet. "I'm not hungry."

"Gracie," Alex started exasperatedly, reaching out to catch my arm, but I yanked it out of his grasp with a glower.

"Forget it."

"Oh, come on, Gracie! I'm sorry!"

"Just leave her, Alex!" Cassandra snapped as I rushed back upstairs and threw myself back into my bedroom. Just like the night before, I turned my stereo on full blast and buried my head in the pillows on my bed.

Of all the places . . . why did my soulfinder have to be here? Now? Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to hope that things would ever be calm enough for me to be anywhere near him, but how was I supposed to explain all that? Could I? I knew at least one of Zed's older brothers was a cop, and there were questionable rumours about Victor Benedict, who seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth and was rarely ever seen. What happened if either of them started asking questions?

Who I was trying to kid? Of course they would. They worked in law enforcement. If they heard their little brother was remotely involved with a girl from a questionable background, they'd try and find out where I came from. I wanted to hate them for it, but honestly, they were only trying to protect him, and I understood that. If things were the other way around, I'd be the same.

But the thought of what would happen if the wrong people found out that Zed Benedict was my soulfinder . . . I was almost sick just thinking about it.

Shaking myself, I untied my hair and braided it back tightly, shoving my feet into my worn combat boots and snatching my leather jacket off the end of the bed. Without thinking twice, I pushed my window open as far as it could go and swung my legs out, reaching forward and grabbing a branch of the cherry blossom tree that stood right beside the house. I climbed down expertly and dropped to the ground with a soft thump, slipping out of the back gate and moving down the street.

I wasn't sure where I was planning on going. Every time I thought I'd calmed down enough to head back home and get on with my life, the thought of Alex and Cassandra whispering about me made my blood boil and I carried on moving with a locked jaw.

I'd long since moved past the stables and started walking down one of the dirt tracks through the trees behind it when my phone gave a shrill ring from my pocket. Pursing my lips, I checked the caller ID before I even considered answering. It was Yves. Vaguely wondering if I should change my mobile number, I took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?"

"A guy called Niall just text," came the voice on the other end, and I went rigid, heart clenching. It wasn't Yves at all, it was Zed. In the background, I thought I could hear the other brother muttering darkly, but I couldn't be sure. "He says your friend Louisa thinks you've gone AWOL."

It took me a moment or two to find my voice. "Sounds like he's finally plucked up the courage to talk to her," I commented dryly.

Zed snorted. "Nice try. Stop changing the subject. Where are you?"

"Not in Denver, apparently."

"Do you have to be so childish?" he snapped irritably.

My jaw locked. What was it with boys who thought they could talk down to me? I'd put up with it from Alex my whole life, and now I had to take it from Zed too? Not a chance. "It's not your job to keep track of me, Zed!" I spat back. "Now if you haven't got anything constructive to say-"

"Please, stop and think about this for a moment," he sighed wryly, and I could tell he'd had even less sleep than I had. "Why are you trying so hard to avoid me?"

I gritted my teeth. "I've already told your brother, I can't explain that."

"So you expect me to sit back and forget about it?" he snorted darkly.

"If possible."

"I can't believe this," he grumbled. "You know we're going to find out what you're keeping quiet?"

"Again, I told Yves not to start asking questions," I snarled through my teeth. "Do you have any idea what you could be doing?"

"No, because you won't explain. So it looks like we'll have to do things the hard way."

"Zed, I swear to God-" I broke off with a frustrated yell, kicking out at a fallen tree branch.

"Then explain it to me!" he demanded.

"Fine!" I caved furiously, knowing there was no other way he'd ever let this drop. "Fine, I'll explain, okay?"

"When?" he rushed eagerly.

I scowled, annoyed that I was looking forward to seeing him just as much as he was. "Tomorrow. After school. And don't call me again."

"I can't promise that," he said, not sounding in the least bit apologetic.

"Oh for Christ sake, Zed, you-"

"See you tomorrow," he interrupted. Without another word, he hung up, leaving me shaking in anger and wondering what the hell I'd just agreed to.