Before I go, I approach my mom and give her a kiss on the cheek. She gives me a soft, sad look and I nod. There’s a lot we’ve shared over the past five years that we now have to explain to everyone. I don’t want to leave her with this, but she knows I need to go find Holly. She’s the one who told me to take her home, to give everyone a hug, and then go find her. I needed to make sure Mom got home safe before I went in search, and I hope that I can do it and still make it home tonight.
I walk out of the front door and head to the garage. I smile with relief when at the end of the long row of cars I see my old Jeep. The keys are still hanging up where I left them and I snag them off the hook and get in. I used to leave this here for my dad in the winter time in case the roads got bad. When I put the key in the ignition I smile. He’s kept it up for me while I was gone. Maybe he did truly know we’d be back some day.
Now comes the hard part. It’s been five years since I laid eyes on Holly, and she’s all I’ve thought about since I left. I just pray that when I find her, she’s still mine.
Chapter 3
Holly
When I wake up, I’m so cold. I can see through the windshield that my car is covered in snow. Panic rises in my chest as I unbuckle my seatbelt and go to open my door. I breathe a sigh of relief when it opens, thankful that I’m not somehow wedged in.
I should have listened to Paul. I shouldn’t have gone out in this storm like I did. I’m running through all the ways I screwed up and getting down on myself, but it’s not helpful. I square my shoulders and try to think of my next move.
Icy wind pushes my door closed, and the bitter cold seeps into my chest. I’m shivering and I need to figure out something fast. I won’t last long out here in the cold.
Looking behind me, I see my car loaded down with all my stuff. I don’t want to leave it here, and I’m not sure I can make it walking back to the last gas station I saw. I’m not too far from town, but out here are rural roads that don’t get traveled much. Especially in this weather. It’s dark out and it wouldn’t be safe.
I dig around in my car for what feels like forever and finally find my phone. I guess it shot out of my cup holder and under my seat when I went off in the ditch. The screen is busted, but it still comes to life. My excitement is short lived when I realize there’s no signal.
“Damn it.” I press my forehead to the steering wheel and close my eyes.
I can’t get my car out of this ditch. I can’t go walk for help in a freezing snowstorm. I can’t call for help because of my stupid phone. What the hell can I do?
Tears roll down my face and I’m mad at myself. Tears are what got me into this, and they aren’t going to get me out of it. I try to recall all the television shows I’ve ever watched and think of ways to survive. I look in the back seat and spot one of my sweaters and grab it. I hang it on the outside of the door, hoping the bold red can be seen against the snow. I look around in the back seat to see if there’s anything else I can use. When my hands land on the plastic box, I say a silent prayer of thanks to my family that must be watching over me.
My grandmother had a tiny Christmas tree in her nursing home that used battery-powered lights. I kept it after she died and packed it up in my car when I was getting ready to leave. I grab the lights and take them off the tree, then turn them on and hang them outside my door next to my red sweater. If someone does come by at least they’ll be able to spot me on the side of the road. With the way the snow is coming down I’ll have to keep reaching out and shaking it off, but at least it’s something.
Once I’ve done that, I grab some more of my clothes and a blanket to wrap around my body for warmth. I have no idea how long it will take someone to find me, but I hang on to the hope that eventually I’ll be seen. I have to. Otherwise I’ll panic and cry and it won’t do me any good. I need to conserve my energy and try to focus on hope.
The image of Vance pops into my head again and my heart aches. Why can’t I just let him go? This whole stupid trip was about me moving away. Moving on with my life. And look where I ended up. In a ditch just outside of town. I can’t even run from my problems the right way.
I let out a sigh and watch as my breath makes a cloud in front of me. “Help,” I say to the universe, and close my eyes.
Chapter 4
Vance
The first place I go after I leave my parents’ house is my office. I don’t have a cell phone or any way of looking up where she might have gone to college, and I know the trust paperwork would be there.
When I get there, I thank god that my code still works and that Hunter hasn’t touched my office. Everything in it is exactly the same, including the files in my desk. I open the drawers and go right to the folder I had started on Holly. From the first time we met I gathered as much information as I could on her and then did everything to make sure she was provided for. I had the trust set up for school, but it didn’t specify which one.