I take the stairs two at a time and pound on the master bedroom door.
It opens after a second, and Vinnie’s there, shirtless, hair tousled, a little breathless.
I freeze.“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but…did Belinda have plans tonight?”
He furrows his brow.“No.”
Raven appears behind him, tying her silk robe, her expression shifting from faintly annoyed to sharp concern in the span of a heartbeat.“Why?”
“I can’t find her.”The words tumble out too fast.“I’ve looked everywhere—her room, the whole house.She’s just…gone.”
Raven’s face drains of color.“No.She wouldn’t just?—”
But she’s already moving, brushing past Vinnie into the hall.
The three of us split up, tearing through the house.Raven calls her phone.No answer.Vinnie checks the garage, the driveway, even the small stretch of dirt road that leads to the property line.
I retrace my steps, opening every door, calling her name until my voice is raw.The warm air presses close, thick with the scent of lemon polish and something sharper—my own sweat, maybe, or the tang of fear in my mouth.
Every empty room ratchets the tension higher.The quiet starts to feel wrong, like the whole house is holding its breath.
When I circle back to her bedroom, something catches my eye—a desk drawer slightly opened.
My pulse spikes.
I cross the room in three quick steps and pull it open.
A single folded piece of paper sits inside.
For a moment I just stare at it, my heart thudding so hard I can hear the blood in my ears.
Then I reach for it.My fingers tremble.
The paper is light in my hand, but it might as well weigh a ton.
I unfold it slowly, almost afraid of what I’ll see.
It’s from her printer, a basic font.
I’m sorry.Thank you for everything, but I have to go.
I blink.
What?
No.
I’ve imagined all this.
Belinda would never leave Vinnie and Raven.She’d never leaveme.
But she did.
Belinda has run away.
The note blurs as my eyes sting.My knees feel unsteady, the edges of the room hazing like I’m going to pass out.
Somewhere behind me, Raven is calling her name again, her voice breaking now.Vinnie’s heavy footsteps echo down the hall.
