Read Online Missing by Noelle Adams - Free Book Online

arrogant exactly but more
dignified than college students usually presented themselves. Lynn found it a
nice change, but she imagined that young people of Beth’s age might find her
demeanor intimidating.
    Maybe Beth stayed here so much because she didn’t have
anywhere else to be.
    Feeling a pull of sympathy, Lynn said spontaneously, “You
don’t need to finish that up right now. If you’re not going to go home, you can
at least come and get some coffee with me.”
    Beth looked surprised but also pleased, exactly as Lynn
would have been in her situation. “Really?”
    Lynn liked the girl, although her main reason for the
invitation was that she was feeling restless and frustrated. She couldn’t
concentrate on work, but she didn’t want to go home yet, since all she’d do was
think about Nathan. “Sure. Why not? I like coffee.”
    “Okay.” Beth gathered her things together, and Lynn was
almost touched by the way the girl seemed to vibrate with leashed excitement.
    As they walked down together, Lynn asked her casually about
her classes. Evidently, Beth had loaded up on coursework during her first two
years of college, and she would have been able to graduate at the end of this
year had she not taken the internship.
    “It will be worth it,” Lynn said. “The experience is
invaluable, and you’ve been doing a great job.”
    “Thank you. I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I wouldn’t
have been able to do one at all unless it was a paid internship like this. I
have to work to get through college. I mean, I’m on scholarship, but it doesn’t
cover everything, and I don’t want to take out loans if I can help it.”
    “Student loans aren’t the end of the world, but if you can
avoid them, then all the better.”
    They were heading for the coffee shop that was down the
block and across the street, and she and Beth navigated quickly through the
crowd of other pedestrians waiting to cross at the light.
    “Are you from the city?” Lynn asked, when they’d gotten into
the coffee shop and they could hear each other again.
    “No.” Beth stared up at the chalked list of coffee drinks on
the back wall above the counter. “We…I’m from a small town in the middle of
nowhere.”
    “Really?” Lynn was genuinely surprised. “I lived in a small
town for several years growing up, and you definitely don’t seem like a small
town girl. You get around like you were born here.”
    Beth gave a little shrug, still not meeting Lynn’s eyes.
“I’m adaptable, I guess.”
    Lynn let Beth order, then ordered herself, and then paid for
both. When they’d found a seat in the corner, she said, “Does your family still
live there?”
    Beth’s expression didn't really change, but something chilled
in her eyes.
    Lynn suddenly wondered if she’d accidentally tread on
dangerous territory. Not everyone wanted to talk about their families.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m too nosy. You don’t have to tell
me about your family.”
    “No,” Beth replied earnestly, sipping her mocha. “It’s okay.
It’s just my dad and my sister. My mom walked out on us when I was little.”
    “I bet your dad is so proud of you,” Lynn said
companionably, wondering if the reason Beth seemed so far above other girls her
age was because she’d taken on responsibilities young that a lot of girls
wouldn’t have had.
    Beth looked away quickly, and Lynn realized she’d made
another faux pas . This girl had more emotional landmines than she would
have expected.
    Before Lynn could take the question back, Beth answered
softly, “I guess so. He wasn’t a big fan of publications like the Cooler .
He’d probably expect me to… Anyway, we don’t really talk anymore.”
    She really should let the subject go, since it was obviously
a sensitive subject, but Lynn was both interested and sympathetic, and she
wanted to know more. “Why not?”
    “I couldn’t…I couldn’t be who he wanted me to be.”
    “That’s tough,” Lynn