Jo called the number connected to the mysterious male voice and heard him over her parents’ landline, confirming he was a real person with a Santa Ana area code. His voice sounded distant and static-filled on the phone but clearer inside her head. Both admitted they doubted the other was real, and their shared ability to hear thoughts led to a tense exchange where each accidentally called the other a liar—first in thought, then aloud.

As Jo processed the reality of their connection, she tried to calm herself and regain control of her breathing. The man contradicted a stray thought of hers about him drinking a mai tai, proving he could hear at least some of her “loud” thoughts. Jo, already stressed by her mother’s condition and the Revelry’s impending closure, demanded to know how to get him out of her head; he suggested doing whatever he did to push her out of his, though neither knew how.

Jo moved through the house, greeting the family dogs and checking rooms to ensure no one was physically present. In her parents’ bedroom she noticed a memory-aid note on Wyn’s mirror with several words, and saw Wyn had missed “effervescent,” which tightened Jo’s anxiety. Back in her room, Jo and the man tried to set boundaries; she clarified she could not hear everything, only prominent thoughts, and he reported the same.

When Gigi texted about coffee plans, Jo realized she was late and decided she did not have time to deal with the mystery man. She proposed they stop communicating in hopes the connection would fade. She ended the phone call without exchanging names, feeling that sharing names was too intimate given the mind link.

As Jo dressed to leave, the man’s voice still slipped into her thoughts, asking whether she truly believed the connection would go away. Startled, Jo resolved to ignore him and hurried downstairs, leaning on the avoidance she learned from her parents as a way to cope with the unnerving situation.