Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
So, I call the one person I know who will always have my back. It only takes Barrett twenty minutes to make it into town.
“What the fuck?” He asks when he sees me, his gaze raking over me. “You said it was an emergency.”
“Lizzy is gone,” I blurt out the words. My heart feels cracked open in my chest. I know I’m going to win her back, but that’s tough to do when I don’t know where she is. Panic is finally settling in. What if I never find her?
Barrett puts a hand on my shoulder, his presence grounding me. “Has she left you or the town?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Town, I guess. I can’t find her anywhere.”
“We’ll find her,” he promises. “Now stop and think. When I was a kid, I always pulled runners. But it was the same three locations. Where would Lizzy have gone if she needed to feel safe?”
I think about what she told me about escaping to libraries when the foster homes she was in were bad. “A library. She would have gone to a library. I already checked the one here.”
“Then we’ll canvas every library in a hundred-mile radius. She probably hasn’t gone far,” he reassures me.
I start toward my truck. “I need to make some calls, and I need you to gather some supplies.”
Lizzy
An eerie noise startles me, and I look around the darkened library. I drove last night until I ended up in a little town called Mount Bliss. I spent the day hanging out at the library. When the place was closed, I snuck in through a back door and spread out a sleeping bag on the floor.
I finally realize the spooky noise is nothing more than a branch scraping along the windowpane and let out a breath.
I pop open a can of cold pasta and look at Mr. Darcy, who is dining on some premium canned cat food. He’s barely looked at me since we left Courage County. I suspect he’s mad at me for taking him away from Noah.
“It’s better this way,” I tell him. “We have to leave before we get attached. Because strays like us aren’t wanted.”
No matter how many times I’ve told Mr. Darcy that, he still hasn’t forgiven me. The truth is, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself. Every time I think of Noah, something twists in my chest and my heart feels too small for my body. I keep wondering if you really can die of a broken heart.
Another noise sounds, more branches scraping against the windows.
I hate that I’m not with Noah right now. Ever since I left, I’ve known I made a mistake, but I’m scared to go back. What if he tells me he doesn’t want me? What if I hurt him just as badly as I hurt myself?
I could call him, except that I tossed my phone out.
For one wild second, I consider going to the front desk and grabbing the old landline phone. I could dial Noah’s phone number. But what would I say? Would he even come get me if I told him that I made a huge mistake, or would he say that I’m not worth the trouble and leave me here stranded where I deserve to be?
The air conditioner kicks on, and I drop my ravioli. Fortunately, the sauce just lands on my shirt and not the carpet. I toss my food out. I’ve barely been able to eat. Nothing tastes good anymore.
I use my flashlight beam to make my way across the lobby. With a deep breath for strength, I grab the phone and dial Noah. He doesn’t answer, probably because the number isn’t familiar. Even if it were, I wouldn’t expect him to take my call. Not after the way I ran from him.
The second time I dial him, the phone goes to voicemail again. Even if he never listens to this message and deletes it unheard, I still want to tell him. My voice is shaky when I say, “It’s Lizzy. I got scared and made a mistake. I’m sorry. I wish…I wish I could go back. I’d try to talk to you first instead of running like a coward.” My voice breaks. “You were the first person that ever felt like home.”
I hang up the phone, unable to keep talking anymore. Tears are streaming down my face as I walk into the bathroom.
It takes me close to twenty minutes, but I manage to compose myself and wash the stain out of my shirt in the sink. My face is a mess and I’m not wearing my wig. All I want to do is go back to Noah.
Once I’m done with my cleanup, I head back to the lobby. I set up my sleeping bag at the back of the library near the door in case I need to bolt.