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I obeyed. I closed my eyes, taking in steady, grounding breaths. Slowly, the pain in my stomach eased as the immediate nausea ebbed away.
My lip curled up into a relieved smile. “I was wrong,” I whispered when I felt confident enough to open my mouth again. “Maybe you do make a good Peter Pan. You have magic.”
My eyes fluttered open, and Reid grinned. He held up my wrists. “Pressure points. It’s supposed to help with nausea. It doesn’t always work, but it was worth a try.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
He let go of me. I stifled a sudden chill as my once overheated skin turned clammy.
“You should probably get to bed, little butterfly,” Reid finally said.
I swallowed. Reid had given me that nickname a long time ago, when my obsession with butterflies was at an all-time peak. The use of it now comforted me. “Bed would probably be good,” I agreed.
“You need anything?”
“No, I think I’m okay.”
Reid gazed up the staircase before looking back at me. “Keep an eye on my baby sister for me.”
“I always do.”
He gave me a small half smile. “I need to get going. Ruby wasn’t very happy I made her leave without me. I should probably make amends before it’s too late.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Good night, Lark.” He crossed to the door and opened it, letting in a cold breeze that made me shiver.
“Night, Reid.”
He left, shutting the door behind him and leaving the three of us alone in that house.
By the time he returned in the morning, I was the only one left alive.
11
Lark
Present Day
When I got back to the Flutter Nook, I bunkered down in the back room used as an office/storage area while Jojo watched the floor and helped customers. My anxiety was at a high after what had happened today with Emersyn, and I didn’t have the energy for people right now. All I wanted to do was focus on my next task.
It hadn’t taken Reid long to send me all the information I needed. The missing girl was named Lily Baker. She was young, early twenties and very pretty. The picture he’d sent of me of her smiling brightly up at the camera had my chest aching. She was last seen at Callie’s Tavern, the bar closest to campus. Everything was close together in a small town like Ember Hollow, but Callie’s was a place where a lot of college kids hung out.
Which made it another weird coincidence that Owen was the last person seen with her. He’d been dating Delainey for at least a year before she died and had been over at the house multiple times back then. I just never really talked to him. They’d seemed like a strange couple: Delainey was all bright and sweet, and Owen, well, he was…quiet. I never thought much of it because I’m not much of a talker either with people I don’t know, but Owen seemed like he hung out with a fringe crowd.
I wondered why he was still hanging out at college bars and talking to girls who ended up missing.
All these thoughts ran through my mind as I worked on designing the missing posters. I wasn’t sure how effective they would be, but I’d decided they would be my first task. They’d draw attention around town, which was what I needed.
I set up a few social media groups and pages to direct people to on the posters. The work was calming. Slipping into something familiar, something I knew exactly how to do, eased my anxiety.
As I worked, the thoughts of Lily and her connection to Owen melted into other thoughts. It made me think of Thea, and how she would’ve plastered these posters on every window and wall and single brick that lined Center Street. It almost brought a smile to my lips—the thought of how she would do anything to help find this girl, whether she knew Lily personally or not.
She was a lot like her brother.
My heart did this strange skittering against my ribs as my mind slid to Reid. In the aftermath of Thea’s death, Reid had been distant. We were never as close as Thea and I, but I couldn’t say it hadn’t hurt when he didn’t even look at me at her funeral. I had once thought that Reid and I were friends, too.
I’d thought that he blamed me for Thea’s death, like a lot of the town had.
