Chapters (47)
Again, Amelia laughed. It felt good, rolling around in her mouth, sweet like chocolate. She tucked her phone into the pocket of her shorts. “Wanna grab a drink with me? My beer’s pretty much empty.” Standing, she bent down to pick up her hollow can.
“Sure.” Lauren stood with her.
As they walked off together, she left all thoughts of Becca lying on the abandoned bench.
She and Lauren exchanged phone numbers at the end of the night. And by the next day Amelia had gotten a text from Lauren asking if she wanted to hang out again. She couldn’t help but notice Becca’s radio silence. Determined not to let it bug her, she started hanging out more with Lauren. It felt serendipitous that she’d dropped into Amelia’s life at the moment when she’d needed a friend.
But it wasn’t serendipitous at all.
Fate hadn’t brought them together.
Apparently, this woman had. This strange, dead woman. Frowning, Amelia turned away from the gravestone, shaking off Lauren’s hand. Wind kissed her cheek, cool and damp.
“You ready?” Lauren asked. Her eyes were glazed, her nose red.
Amelia forced a nod, even though her stomach twisted. When Lauren first brought up the idea for their road trip, it had sounded fun. An adventure. She could practically taste the salty sea air mixed with a big dose of freedom. That’s what she really wanted. The one thing her mom had never given her.
Freedom.
Space.
A chance to just be. To think on her own without her mom’s input. To walk on the beach, without her mother breathing down her neck.
But suddenly she didn’t feel free at all.
Lauren’s expression was one of hope. In her eyes, Amelia saw the familiar expectations. This wasn’t simply a carefree girl’s trip. Lauren had an agenda.
Amelia looked out past the wrought iron gate, at the street beyond. If only she could start running and never stop. Closing her eyes, she conjured up the feel of the air on her face, the breeze slipping through her fingers, brushing back her hair. She wanted to be alone to sort through all her confusing thoughts. Sift through the information she’d been force-fed by Lauren. She imagined the truth like those flecks of gold she’d panned for when she went on that gold rush field trip in sixth grade. Right now, she was only catching the fool’s gold. Shiny and brassy, deceptive. Masquerading as the real thing.
If she could be alone, quiet all the outside voices, she was certain she’d discover it.