Page 195 of The Song We Lost

#JusticeForBailey

chapter 48

luke

. . .

Bailey wasn’t on the property when we got back. At first nobody thought much of it.

Everyone was still emotional from the awards show, talking over each other in the kitchen while Noah opened beers and replayed clips from social media on his phone. Mom cried twice watching the performance back and Dad pretended he wasn’t wiping his eyes every few minutes. But as the day stretched on…

Bailey still didn’t come home.

I messaged Rachel to confirm Bailey was on the red eye and should be back by now. Rachel stayed behind in Nashville, to“wrap a few things up”. I had a feeling she was behind the Kacey tell all, but she wouldn’t admit to it.

I stood on the back deck staring toward the trees while unease crawled slowly beneath my skin.

“She answer you?” Noah asked quietly from behind me.

I shook my head. Her phone went straight to voicemail now.

The cold mountain air bit through my coat but I barely felt it. Because something in my chest already knew where she went. I grabbed my keys without saying anything.

“Luke,” Noah called carefully.

I paused.

“If you find her…” He hesitated before adding softly, “Just… Bring our girl home.”

I nodded once before heading for the truck.

The trailer park looked smaller than I remembered, or maybe I just finally saw it clearly now. Half the trailers sat abandoned, metal rusting beneath years of weather while patches of snow still covered the gravel roads in uneven layers. The old basketball net still leaned sideways near the entrance and the tiny convenience store where Bailey used to buy slushies after school had plywood over the windows now.

Time moved on.

I parked near the back lot and shut the truck off. Silence swallowed everything immediately.

I got out of the truck, scanning the area and then I saw her.

Bailey stood behind the trailer she grew up in near the small patch of clearing hidden from the rest of the park. The old tree stump she used to stand on was still there beneath a dusting of snow.

I remembered the last time I saw her like this, in that exact spot. Fifteen years old sitting behind the trees with my guitar while Bailey sang songs she was too scared to let anyone else hear.

Back then she used to close her eyes while she sang, like if she couldn’t see people looking at her, they couldn’t hurt her.

I stayed still for a long moment just watching her. The wind moved softly through her hair while she stared out toward the mountains.

Then quietly, her voice carried to me, “You found me.”

I swallowed hard. “I always will.”

Her shoulders tightened slightly at that. For a second I thought she might tell me to leave. Instead she laughed softly without humor. “You weren’t supposed to be like this anymore…” Her voice cut off, but I had to know what she was trying to tell me. “I don’t understand what that means, Bailey. I’d follow you anywhere….”

Bailey finally turned then, tears already shining in her eyes. “I know.”

That hit me right in the fucking chest. Silence stretched between us while the last of the snow drifted slowly around the clearing. Then suddenly she looked angry, “Then explain it to me, Luke.”

My chest tightened instantly. “Bailey…”