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He'd always been the stereotypical angry drunk, and it was frustrating, because Nicky had always tried to save him. She'd tried to make him better. But he was never a good man. He treated her mother poorly, and after Rosie was gone, he’d treated Nicky like shit too.
Nicky’s family was broken, maybe even before Rosie went missing. But Nicky owed it to Rosie to remember her as the person she'd always been: a good person.
Whenever Nicky thought of Rosie, she thought of that time at the lake house.
But they had memories before that, too.
Memories from when they were normal sisters.
When they were little--Nicky was nine and Rosie was eight--their father still had a shred of kindness in him.
He got Rosie a puppy for her birthday.
The puppy was a standard poodle. It had lots of white fur and a floppy, curly tail. It was always a little nervous, an anxious little thing. But Rosie had always been anxious too.
Nicky remembered playing with the dog with Rosie in the living room of their old home. How happy Rosie had been.
There were other happy memories too.
When Nicky was ten and Rosie was nine, they'd gotten matching pigtails.
They'd both been so excited. They'd gotten new dresses, shoes, and handbags. Then they had gone to the nail salon to get their nails painted.
They'd had so much fun that day.
Nicky remembered this all as clearly as if it had just happened yesterday. She remembered the way the little pigtails looked on her little sister.
She remembered the way Rosie was always happy.
Another time, they had decided to start up a lemonade stand. They got a stand and some old, beat-up folding tables, and they set up in the front yard.
They set the tables out in the sun, facing the road.
It was summer, so the sun hit them straight-on, and the heat from the flowers on the fence warmed the table legs.
They set up their stuff and Rosie made them some lemonade. They sold it to the neighbors and made a lot of money.
They had all the time in the world.
Nicky remembered them eating ice cream after the stand closed. The cool sweet flavor of the ice cream. The coolness that filled her mouth.
She remembered Rosie being happy.
And most of all, she reminded herself that it was okay to think of the good times. She didn't have to keep torturing herself with memories of when everything went wrong. There was so much more to Rosie and Nicky's life than those horrible three days in that cabin. So much more.
But remembering all of that happiness only made Nicky's resolve burn brighter.
She couldn’t give up on Rosie.
Because Rosie never would have given up on her.
EPILOGUE
Nicky sat on her couch and looked out the window at Jacksonville. The sky was clear, smooth, and faintly blue. She could see the hotel and casino across the bay, lit up by the early evening sun. A gentle breeze wafted from the bay, carried on the salty air. Nicky could smell the salt in the air and feel it on her skin.
It felt good to be home.
After what Dr. Graham had said, Nicky was feeling more optimistic about the future--and about letting someone into her life. Or someone back into her life.
