“Jensen!” she calls out.
His name echoes in the near distance as Amari and Levi pick up Chloe’s idea. Rachel stayed on campus, saying someone who knows what we’re doing should stay behind.
We keep going, venturing deeper. Tall trees reach the sky, blocking the sunlight. The terrain is mostly an even tangle of undergrowth with the occasional ditch or small hill. Every step we take starts a rustling echo, sometimes startling a few birds from their perches above.
More than an hour goes by before we’re far away enough that Amari’sJensens fade to nothing.
I pull my phone out, checking we can stay in touch. I’m not surprised when I find there’s no service. The closest tower is in town. The reception at Lakeside isn’t great, but it’s there. Here, the trees obscure the signal.
Even though Chloe’s with me, an eerie chill whispers over the back of my neck.
Shaking the stiffness off my limbs, I tell myself the chill is from the weather, not fear. Good thing I slipped into Nash’s hoodie, or I’d be freezing right now.
Once I can do some clothes shopping, I’m never wearing another cardigan or flimsy little dress again. Knowing I onlychanged my style so drastically for Alex makes me sick whenever I open the closet.
Thankfully, I have a collection of Nash’s clothes I can hide behind: black hoodies and gray tracksuit bottoms. And there’s the added bonus that they all smell like him. I may or may not have buried my face in there once.
Or twice.
Or too many times to count.
Another hour goes by. Maybe more.
“Jensen!” Chloe yells, her voice breaking like she doesn’t have the strength to keep yelling.
“Are you okay?” I ask, leveling my step with her. “Should we take a break?”
“No, I’m fine.” She wipes her pink nose with the sleeve of her jean jacket. “It’s just... I’m scared we won’t find him. He’s been there for me since middle school. He’s like my brother, Hailey. Levi’s older, so he wasn’t around that much, but Jensen...” She trails off, her eyes welling up.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her into a hug, muttering everything she wants to hear. “If he’s here, we’ll find him, and I’ll kick his ass for making you worry.”
She chuckles into my shoulder, a sad kind of humor. She takes a deep breath, wipes her nose again, and peels away like she’s ripping off a Band-Aid.
“Okay, let’s keep going. I’m fine.He’s fine.”
I almost collide with her back not even ten yards later. “What—?”
“Shhh!” She clasps her hand over my mouth.
My eyebrows meet in the middle when, ten seconds later, her eyes near pop out.
“Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“Thatsound!”
“Whatsound, Chloe? The leaves? The wind?”
She shakes her head. “Listen.”
With a roll of my eyes I indulge her, even though I can’t hear anything you wouldn’t expect in the middle of nowhere: wind, leaves, birds.
“There!” Chloe whisper-shouts. “Did you hear?!”
“I heard,” I sigh, realizing what’s got her so excited. “It’s a bird, Chloe.”
“A bird?” she mouths, her shoulders slumping. “Are you sure? It doesn’t sound like a bird. It sounds like wailing.”
