Page 169 of Nobody's Girl

My head needs to be cleared. I’m going to take a run. That always helps. I’m sure he’s fine.

He has to be fine!

After changing into shorts and running shoes, I run down the stairs. “Going for a run, Mom.”

“Don’t forget we have company coming, Alyssa,” my mother calls out after me. “Don’t be too long. He should be here soon.”

The door closed behind me. I stretch before I take off. My parents have company coming, not me.

What do I care about some kid of their old friends?

My boyfriend and his family are missing. Down the steep drive I go, but then I stop. I should send Kyle a text. I grab my cell and tap out a quick one.

-Missed you at school today. Anything wrong?-

Okay, now that I’ve done all I can do to let him know I care about him and his whereabouts, I can run. The road in front of me has a few small hills. No flat roads around here.

Where could he be?

I shake my head to clear it. My heart’s pounding with worry. I’ve got to calm down.

He’s fine!

But what if he’s not? What if he had a wreck? What if he’s in a coma? Or worse? What if he’s dead?

The loud sound of a horn makes me stop and look up. Something passes so close to me, the wind from it knocks me back.

I’m falling!

Oh, God! I’m falling!

CHAPTER 8

EDEN

There it is. My mate’s house!

This is where she’s grown up. So very different from where I did. So quaint, this tall, two-story, tan, brick home is. The whole town of Cloudcroft is quaint, like something out of a book.

What must her life have been like?

Playing in the pretty park in the snowy winters. I can see her dressed in a white jacket, laughing as she watches her younger brother slide down the slopes.

Picnics must have been aplenty there in the summer. Perhaps she fished in the ponds which dot the area.

How will she take to the humid air in New Orleans? Will she hate it there?

The driveway is steep as I pull in. The mountain is gorgeous, as is the thick forest. So very different from the flat, swampy lands of Louisiana where I’ll be taking her to.

Will she ever come to love it as I do?

I wonder how she’ll take to living in a mansion.

The sound of my engine must have alerted Toni to my arrival. She’s waving as she comes out the green front door. “Eden, I’m so happy to see you.”

“Where is she?” I ask. Patience and politeness, it seems, have momentarily left me. “Sorry, how rude of me. How are you, Toni?”

Toni leans in my window. “That’s okay. I’m sure your nerves are on edge. She went for a run down the street. She usually runs just to the edge of town, then turns back. Why don’t you drive down and surprise her? I told her that you were just about to get here. Your gorgeous car is bound to get her attention, along with your devastatingly handsome face, I might add.”