the car door and called out into the darkness: “Hello?”
Carefully, she stepped out onto the road. Snow was starting to fall again, and unlike the flakes the other night, this snow meant business. It
would
be a white Christmas. She looked around, trying to remember just where she’d seen the woman, the figure, whatever it was. Then she saw something—something dark, crumpled on the other side of the road.
Oh my god.
Her eyes started to water again, and she pulled her hood over her forehead, as though another layer would quiet her racing mind.
“Hello? Are you okay?” She moved closer; her breath caught in her chest. And then all the tension rushed out of her at once. It was a coat, lying there on the asphalt.
“Hello?” she called again as she walked over to pick it up. She looked around, terrified that she might stumble on the girl who owned the coat, lying prone somewhere in the snow. The girl couldn’t have just disappeared.
But as she bent down to grab the coat, a curious feeling of dread spread through her. In her hands, the coat felt heavy. Then the hot-pink lining glinted up at her. And there, pinned to the breast of the BCBG coat, was a heart-shaped rhinestone pin.
“What the . . . ?” She breathed out.
She had found Gabby’s coat after all.
Em spun in a full circle, as though she might find some explanation in the dark trees, the swirling mist, and the empty road. The coincidence was too much.
She walked back over to her car, holding the coat gingerly in front of her as though it were alive. When she got to the open door, she tossed the coat in first, over toward the passenger side, not caring that it landed on the floor. The last thing she wanted to be staring at was Gabby’s favorite coat. And then,as she sat down to wait for JD, she felt something beneath her, stabbing her leg. She pulled back.
Resting on the black leather was a beautiful red orchid, more intricate than any flower she’d seen. Certainly nothing that was in season in Maine right now. Its petals looked like pieces of sugared icing. Its color was the deep, dark red of fresh blood.
Em plucked it from the seat between her thumb and pointer finger, twirling it in her hand. Zach must have left it for her—maybe when he went missing for those few minutes? But why didn’t she notice it when she got in the car before?
Em shook the doubts from her mind. Zach had left it for her, as part of her present. He must have. And yet, looking at this . . . thing, she couldn’t shake the sensation of being creeped out, and she was careful to zip up her bag tightly when she’d tucked the flower into its depths, as though it might reach out and swallow her.
CHAPTER SIX
Chase knew he had to find Ty, but he had no idea where to look. He’d never seen her or her cousins before, and they’d given no indication of where they’d come from or where they were going. Still, Ty had said she was sure they would run into each other again soon, so she had to be around somewhere. Chase wasn’t going to wait for fate to intervene again—he was taking matters into his own hands.
On Saturday, he scoured the old mall, dodging last-minute Christmas shoppers and exploring stores he’d otherwise avoid like the plague, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ty’s wild red hair or to hear her tinkling laugh. Later that night, he drove by Fitzroy’s and down Ascension’s strip of chain restaurants, scanning the parking lots for the maroon Lincoln.
He couldn’t let her slip away. He needed to see her. Itwas an ache in his muscles, an itch in his skin, a desperate, drumming feeling in his blood. For the first time in years, he thought of one of the last times he’d seen his dad. It was after a two-week-long binge. He was carted home by the cops. Chase watched his father slink inside: skinny, stinking, half dead. When he woke up, the first thing he’d demanded was a drink.
“I need it,” he’d said, looking up at Chase with eyes full of desperation. Chase
Carefully, she stepped out onto the road. Snow was starting to fall again, and unlike the flakes the other night, this snow meant business. It
would
be a white Christmas. She looked around, trying to remember just where she’d seen the woman, the figure, whatever it was. Then she saw something—something dark, crumpled on the other side of the road.
Oh my god.
Her eyes started to water again, and she pulled her hood over her forehead, as though another layer would quiet her racing mind.
“Hello? Are you okay?” She moved closer; her breath caught in her chest. And then all the tension rushed out of her at once. It was a coat, lying there on the asphalt.
“Hello?” she called again as she walked over to pick it up. She looked around, terrified that she might stumble on the girl who owned the coat, lying prone somewhere in the snow. The girl couldn’t have just disappeared.
But as she bent down to grab the coat, a curious feeling of dread spread through her. In her hands, the coat felt heavy. Then the hot-pink lining glinted up at her. And there, pinned to the breast of the BCBG coat, was a heart-shaped rhinestone pin.
“What the . . . ?” She breathed out.
She had found Gabby’s coat after all.
Em spun in a full circle, as though she might find some explanation in the dark trees, the swirling mist, and the empty road. The coincidence was too much.
She walked back over to her car, holding the coat gingerly in front of her as though it were alive. When she got to the open door, she tossed the coat in first, over toward the passenger side, not caring that it landed on the floor. The last thing she wanted to be staring at was Gabby’s favorite coat. And then,as she sat down to wait for JD, she felt something beneath her, stabbing her leg. She pulled back.
Resting on the black leather was a beautiful red orchid, more intricate than any flower she’d seen. Certainly nothing that was in season in Maine right now. Its petals looked like pieces of sugared icing. Its color was the deep, dark red of fresh blood.
Em plucked it from the seat between her thumb and pointer finger, twirling it in her hand. Zach must have left it for her—maybe when he went missing for those few minutes? But why didn’t she notice it when she got in the car before?
Em shook the doubts from her mind. Zach had left it for her, as part of her present. He must have. And yet, looking at this . . . thing, she couldn’t shake the sensation of being creeped out, and she was careful to zip up her bag tightly when she’d tucked the flower into its depths, as though it might reach out and swallow her.
CHAPTER SIX
Chase knew he had to find Ty, but he had no idea where to look. He’d never seen her or her cousins before, and they’d given no indication of where they’d come from or where they were going. Still, Ty had said she was sure they would run into each other again soon, so she had to be around somewhere. Chase wasn’t going to wait for fate to intervene again—he was taking matters into his own hands.
On Saturday, he scoured the old mall, dodging last-minute Christmas shoppers and exploring stores he’d otherwise avoid like the plague, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ty’s wild red hair or to hear her tinkling laugh. Later that night, he drove by Fitzroy’s and down Ascension’s strip of chain restaurants, scanning the parking lots for the maroon Lincoln.
He couldn’t let her slip away. He needed to see her. Itwas an ache in his muscles, an itch in his skin, a desperate, drumming feeling in his blood. For the first time in years, he thought of one of the last times he’d seen his dad. It was after a two-week-long binge. He was carted home by the cops. Chase watched his father slink inside: skinny, stinking, half dead. When he woke up, the first thing he’d demanded was a drink.
“I need it,” he’d said, looking up at Chase with eyes full of desperation. Chase
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