Read Online Over by Stacy Claflin - Free Book Online

stopped bringing over meals.
    Alyssa had taken that as her first small sign that it was time to move on with life. Things needed to return to normal as much as possible. They were still alive, and she needed to get herself together enough to take care of her remaining child. Alex was who she had to focus on now. She needed this time to pull herself together without distraction.
    Before she could focus on taking care of Alex properly, she needed to mourn Macy. She would allow herself to grieve while she had this bedroom all by herself, and then she would plan the funeral—even if it ruined her relationship with Chad. If he didn't love Alyssa enough to give her what she needed, then she didn't need him in her life anymore.
    She stretched and then rolled over, spreading herself across the bed diagonally. Closing her eyes, she saw Alex's face in her mind.
    Hopefully, he wouldn't be too upset over her being gone in the morning. Chad would let him know that she was safe, and with Zoey still there, he might not even notice her absence.
    She would have to ask Rusty how he dealt with the loss. How on earth had he been able to move on? He seemed to be happy enough. In fact, she would have never guessed what he had been through if he hadn't told her.
    Memories of Macy filled Alyssa's mind in the dark silence. Tears came. "Why did you go, Macy? Didn't you know how much losing you would kill the rest of us?" She buried her face into the pillow and sobbed. Once the tears stopped—even they had had their limit—she sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees.
    It felt good to speak to Macy. If she had died like Alyssa believed, maybe Macy could even hear Alyssa speaking to her. "Macy, I hope you know how much we all love you. Did you know before you took off? Were you only planning on being gone that night? The only thing missing, aside from you, of course, was your favorite purse."
    Alyssa sighed. "Was there anything we could have done differently? I would give anything to go back in time and stop you from going. Or let you go and have Zoey and Alex go with you so you wouldn't be alone for a second. Did you mean to leave us? I can't imagine that you did. I know you left that message online, but there's so much doubt around that. Most everyone thinks you were forced to write that. Were you? I hope not. More than anything, I hope not."
    She squeezed her knees tighter. "It rips me apart to think about anything bad happening to you. I should have been there to protect you. I tried, I really did. I looked for you until my body hurt. I begged others to help. Your dad, he's been getting the word out on his blog nonstop. And we get along again. We're not fighting anymore, Macy. Well, not until tonight."
    Fresh tears filled her eyes, thinking about her fight with Chad. "We can't agree on what to do about you. I don't know if that'll tear us apart or not. I need to give you the memorial service you deserve. What if we never find you? Are we going to never give you a proper service? That's not right. But no matter what happens, Dad and I both love you with all of our hearts. Even if we can't be together anymore." Tears dropped onto her arms.
    "Though I think us not being together would hurt Alex more than you. Hopefully, you're in Heaven or someplace good. I can't imagine you going anywhere else. You're so sweet. Feisty, yes." Alyssa couldn't help smiling. "No one could ever doubt your spunk. I'll never forget how mad you got when Dad and I tried to keep you from going vegan. You weren't going to take no for an answer. And you didn't. When I saw you buying your own food, I finally caved. Remember that? I wanted to take you to the gym with me, but you were afraid you'd see kids from school there. You used Dad's weights in the garage."
    Alyssa felt a wave of relief wash over her. It felt so good to talk to Macy. She really felt like her daughter could hear her. She leaned back and fell into a sleep deeper than she had experienced in a long