I couldn’t stop the tears from slipping down my cheeks as I pulled my parents into my arms.
I’ve felt lost for so long now... I never thought I could feel this again.
A sense of security.
Chapter 2
ELIZABETH
There are those brief moments between sleep and reality where your consciousness isn’t fully aware of where you are.
As I woke up, I felt Jon’s arms around me, pulling me into his body to signal that he was ready for a certain wake-up call. I squeezed my eyes shut in pain before a knock sounded on the door forcing my eyes to open, showing me I was well and truly alone in my bed.
My breath came out shaky, but instead of dwelling on the dark memories that were living in my mind, I sat up against the pillows. I called out to whoever was on the other side of the door, letting them know they could come in.
My mom poked her head in. “Did I wake you?”
I just waved her off. “It’s fine; I was getting up anyway.” I threw the blankets off of me, walking to the suitcase that I had hastily packed as much of my clothes in before I left Jon.
“I have breakfast ready if you’re hungry. I can just bring it to you if you’d rather stay in here,” she offered carefully.
“I’ll come out there,” I told her. I wanted all the reminders that I was no longer surrounded by Jon and his high expectations.
I quickly grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans and a green long-sleeve sweater that made my auburn hair look brighter. Before going into the kitchen, I took a moment in the bathroom, inspecting the tired face that looked back at me in the mirror.
In the past few years, I’d hated looking at my reflection. I hated to see the hopelessness that lived behind my eyes. Now, though... there was something else there. Not happiness, not entirely, but... perhaps the beginnings of it.
My skin didn’t seem as pale as I had grown accustomed to—there was a rosy hue to my cheeks that hadn’t been there for a long time. Everything else was the same; the same small, delicate ears and pointed nose but also so different. It was like I was staring at my old self and damn, did I miss her.
After blinking away a few tears that threatened to fall, I exited the bathroom, heading down the hallway toward the kitchen where I could hear my parents chatting.
I paused just out of eyesight when I heard my name.
“I know Lizzie’s not telling us everything,” my dad whispered.
“Our little girl’s been through a lot,” my mom responded.
My dad’s voice held nothing but anger and sadness when he responded, “I want to find that son of a bitch and kill him for what he did to our Lizzie.”
“Ted,” my mom cautioned him. “That attitude won’t solve anything. Right now, what Lizzie needs is us. What she doesn’t need is you in prison.”
“I know,” he unwillingly admitted. “I just hate feeling so useless.” I didn’t have to see him to know that he was running his hands through his brown hair in frustration.
“The only thing we can do is be here for her and wait for her to be ready to tell us what happened.”
Not being able to handle any more of this conversation, I walked into the kitchen, giving them a grateful smile.
“What do you want to do today, sweetheart?” my mom asked after she set down a plate full of the best breakfast items in front of me at the kitchen island.
“God, this is good,” I moaned around the bite of pancakes. I took a sip of the hot coffee she handed me before answering her. “I was actually wanting to pay Mackenna a visit,” I said hesitantly; I didn’t want them to think that I didn’t want to spend any time with them after a year of not talking.
But I needed time with my friend.
Understanding lit up her eyes. “Of course. She should be at her shop; she’s never far from that building.”
“Does she live there or something?” I attempted to joke.
My mom smirked. “She actually does. There’s a full apartment above the shop.”
As we devoured the breakfast, my parents told me more about what had been going on around town.
“Mr. Beckett is still his same haughty self, always complaining about something or other. Also, your old teacher, Mrs. Cameron, retired a few years back.”
Hearing the name of my old third-grade teacher brought back a rush of wonderful memories, many with Mackenna as the star. What I wouldn’t give to go back to being that young, with no worries and no stress.
“Who took over her classes?”
In a town as small as North Hills, there were only three or four third-grade teachers. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d heard of a new teacher coming to the school.
“A sweet girl a couple of years younger than you. Sophie Harris.” The name briefly rang a bell, but I couldn’t remember how I knew it. “Her parents passed away just about six years ago now. It’s just her and her brother; I think he’s about four years older than you.”
Hearing the news about this girl’s parents, I could remember exactly how I remembered the name “Harris”. The car accident that took her parents from her was monumental news for our little town. I felt a pang imagining what she had to go through losing both of her parents so suddenly.
As I cleared my plate, I stood up to grab my parents’ dishes, but my mom gently slapped my hands away.
“You will not be doing any dishes, young lady. Visit Mackenna, the two of you probably have a lot to catch up on.”
I just stood there, unsure about leaving when there was still so much to clean up, but my mom gave me a soft smile. Pain flared in my father’s eyes for just a second before it was gone.
“Go, sweetheart. We got it.”
Every bone in my body screamed at me to clean up the kitchen; a dirty house led to an angry husband. I had to close my eyes and remind myself that wasn’t my life anymore. If I wanted to have a home that looked like a tornado just blew through it, I could. No one was going to yell at me and call me names just because there were dishes in the sink.
“Are you sure?” I couldn’t help but ask again.
“Go,” my mom insisted. “Do you need directions to her shop?”
I shook my head. “I’m sure I can find it.” There weren’t many buildings that a person couldn’t find in North Hills.
I went back to my bedroom to grab my phone. I froze when I saw the screen.
13 Missed Calls
10 Text Messages
2 Voicemails
My hands shook as I deleted everything, not looking or listening to any of the messages from Jon. I knew pretty much what they would say, anyway.
I took a deep breath before pocketing the cell, grabbing my purse, and heading back out into the kitchen.
“I’ll be back soon.”
My father waved my words away. “Stay out all day, if you want. Just have fun.”
I gave them another grateful smile and a few moments later I was down the stairs, out the door, and sitting in my car.
I drove down the same streets I had yesterday, but this time there were people on the sidewalks, just talking to each other. It was a big change from being in a big city like Collins, where no one cared to stop and talk—everyone was in too big of a hurry to be nice to their neighbors.
Once I was on Main Street, it didn’t take long to find Flour Power. After parking, I had to give myself a little pep talk before getting out. I knew deep down that Mackenna wouldn’t be mad, but it was hard to remember that not everyone got angry at little things.