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But when I acknowledge I'm losing this battle, I rest my head against the door, and before the internal lights go out, I pray.Please Alex, be okay.
40
SAMANTHA
As night falls,the blue haze of day lifts to reveal the stars. A soft breeze sweeps through my hair, but it doesn't calm my troubled mind. With a knot in my stomach and my eyes fixed on the sparkling spots above, I pray.
Please bring them home to me.
I wipe a tear from my cheek as my mind drifts to the day my mom died. I was waiting for her to pick me up from my piano lesson. At first, I complained when she wasn’t there, and I assumed she forgot. I hung around and called her for two hours, until my teacher offered me a ride home. Arriving at my house, I sensed something was amiss when the police were talking to the neighbor. It turned out that a truck ignored a road sign and hit my mom's car head on. She died on the spot, and I never had time to say goodbye.
Amanda pops up next to me and places a hand on my shoulder. "Honey, come on. You've been standing here for two hours. Let's go inside and watch television."
I shake my head and maintain my position in Cole's and Alisha's spot at the baluster, gazing over the city, and sending prayers into the sky.
"Did Brian call?"
"No, he hasn't. But I'm confident he will call soon." Amanda drapes her arm around my waist. "We need to remain patient, sweetheart."
I nod, but with every fleeting minute, my nervousness builds. When the front door opens, Amanda and I dash inside, assuming to see my dad and Alisha. But when Nick and Emma walk inside instead, my limbs get rocky.
"What are you two doing here?" Amanda asks as she stops next to her brother.
I stare at Emma, who's biting on her bottom lip.
"Come on, let's sit," Nick says in an eerily calm voice while pointing to the couch. With unsteady legs, I take a seat on the sofa. Both women sit next to me.
"Where are Cole and Alisha?" I ask.
Nick's jaw muscles clench as his wife takes hold of my hand. "We don't know, sweetie."
"What?"
Amanda glances at Nick and asks, "Where is Brian? I called him, and he said he was going over there to check on Cole."
"And he did. When he arrived, he found Cole's car parked in front of the diner, but no trace of him. Shortly after, the police arrived, and Brian explained the situation. They talked to the server that works at the diner, and she testified Cole came inside, looking for Alisha. But when she wasn't there, he left. And now we're in a loophole as to where they are."
I seize my phone. "I'm calling Alisha."
Emma stops me by grabbing my hand. "Honey, Alisha turned off her phone."
I leap off the couch. "What? She never does that." My lips quiver as I lift a finger in the air. "Cole promised me he would find Alisha and bring her home. So, where are they?"
My eyes flash to Nick, whose face has a dispirited appearance. "You both assume something disastrous happened, don't you?"
"Sam, calm down. We don't know. But it’s odd that we can’t reach then, and that they haven’t tried to contact us."
When a heartbreaking thought overpowers my brain, I run to my room, where I fall onto the bed. Tears run freely, smudging the sunny flower covers Alisha bought for me. My hands shake as frightening images and thoughts intensify my sharped emotions.
What if they never come back? What if they're dead?
41
ALISHA
I brushmy hands over my face as my eyelids open. After blinking, my blurry mind awakes, and questions arise.
Where am I? What happened?
