“Some of us are, but at the core of that feeling is concern. I’m worried about you. Beth is worried about you. And Lily is worried about you. You will make mistakes in life, Wren.God,I’ve made my fair share of them, and will probably make more. But the thing that no one tells you until it’s too late is howimportant it is to learn to grow from those mistakes. Find the lesson that all of this is trying to teach you and grow.”
Wren sniffled on the other end of the line, but she didn’t say anything.
“I believe in you, Wren. Do you believe in yourself?”
Another quiet moment passed before Wren’s defeated voice said, “I don’t know.”
Sarah’s heart cracked wide open at that moment—at Wren’s admission. “It’s time to start. You hear me? Start believing in yourself because you are WrenfuckingParker, and there is only one of you in this family.”
“Okay.” Wren sniffed again, her voice strengthening. “Okay.”
There was some more rustling on the other end of the line before Nell’s voice was back in her ear, velvety and smooth. “I’ll update you this afternoon.”
“Take care of her, Nell, please. Just make sure she’s doing okay.”
“Nate and I are on it. He really shines in moments like these.”
“So do you, Nell.”
The call ended silently, without a goodbye, exactly like always. Sarah closed her eyes briefly as Beth’s hand found her thigh, patting her leg gently.
“Wren agreed,” she whispered, the relief of knowing she had been able to fix something coursing through her. “She’s going to rehab.”
Beth leaned forward, reaching around Sarah to place her coffee beside hers on the nightstand, and when she leaned back, Sarah folded herself into Beth’s arms. She nestled herself into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of lavender that lingered on her skin.
For the last three decades, that scent had burned itself into her memory. She took another deep breath, and then another as Beth’s hand stroked her cheek.
“See, everything is okay. You took care of it.” Beth whispered her reassurance against Sarah’s temple, lips soft on her skin as Sarah sank deeper into her embrace.
Before she could think too hard, Sarah let her truth fall from her lips. “I always take care of everything.” She untangled herself from Beth’s arms, running her fingers through her tangled mess of sleep-mussed hair, twisting the strands into a top-knot before reaching for her tortoise shell glasses sitting on the nightstand. “Thanks for going out and grabbing this. Definitely needed after the last twelve hours we’ve had.” She lifted the cup in a cheers gesture before bringing it to her lips, taking a sip. “Pat makes the best coffee.”
“He really does,” Beth agreed absently, tracing a finger lightly across Sarah’s thigh over the duvet.
“What is it?” Sarah said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Well, it depends on what you want to hear first. Do you want the good news? Or the bad news?”
Sarah closed her eyes, breathing in, mentally preparing herself for the news Beth was about to deliver. She could only hope that whatever problem was about to get dropped on her plate had an easy fix. She really couldn’t take on anything more right now. “Give me the bad news first. Let’s get it over with.”
“Turns out, Lily didn’t spend the night at Dylan’s last night. She told Dylan she needed to borrow her car for a few days and took off without telling Dylan where she was going?—”
“What?” Sarah sat up straighter, her pulse quickening in her chest. “How many times is Lily going to try running? We’ve talked about this with her. Running is not how you handle hard things. Okay, okay,” she mumbled to herself, jumping right into problem solver mode as she reached for her phone and began to formulate a plan for how they were going to find Lily. “Okay, what kind of car does Dylan drive? Do we think Lily has her location shared with anyone?” A gentle hand on her arm pulledher attention before she could continue. Her eyes shot up to see Beth looking at her, head cocked slightly to the side.
“I already found her,” Beth said gently. Her words brought an immediate wave of relief. “You’re not the only one who knows how to solve a problem, Sar.” She smiled, eyes twinkling in the pale morning light. “How do you feel about a little road trip? She’s at Jamie’s house in Oregon, and I think she wanted us to know that.” She held up her phone showing a little blue dot on a map. “She left her location on.”
Sarah groaned, leaning back into the pillows and pulling Beth down with her. She scooped Beth tight against her body, arms wrapping snugly around her as Beth’s hair created a curtain around them, their faces close together. “I guess we’re going to Oregon,” she whispered, pressing her lips to Beth’s.
Four hours into their drive, Beth reached for the volume knob, silencing the sounds of the playlist they had been listening to as they wound their way down the highway lined with towering evergreens. Sarah glanced sideways before quickly setting her gaze back on the road in front of her.
“I’m going to practice something,” Beth said cautiously, pushing her sunglasses up into her hair.
“Oh yeah? And what might that be?” she teased, glancing back at Beth.
Beth grinned sheepishly, shifting in her seat, sitting up a little straighter. “If we want to be different, we have to act differently, right?” she started. Sarah’s smile fell slightly with the realization that Beth’s tone was more serious than it was playful. “I need to revisit the whole Nell thing,” Beth quickly went on. “I know, it’s small, but it’s still bothering me that she was your first call last night. Not me.”
Sarah’s stomach clenched uncomfortably as she fought her natural inclination to lean into defensiveness. But like Beth had said, if they wanted to be different, they had to act differently.
“Okay, let’s talk about it. Tell me where you’re at.” Sarah tightened her grip on the leather steering wheel.
