Chasing Fireflies

Chapter 14

I knew I had to talk to Val and Thatcher both, but before that, I needed to make one more stop. I had Jess drop me off at my house. I ignored my parents as they asked me where I'd been and ran upstairs. I took the journal back out from the crook of Wren's closet door and carried it into my room. I slammed Wren's bedroom door and didn't even care if my parents heard.

I flipped to the very back of the book. The leather cover felt flimsy in my hands, and I felt like I was buzzing with energy--like I could rip the whole thing apart with a tiny tear. The last fifty pages or so were blank, so I flipped back to the last page that had writing on it.

My heart was beating out of my chest. There were only two short paragraphs written on the last page. It was dated July 2, 2021: the date of the accident.

V and I had an AWFUL fight, i can't even explain it but I know I've been a lot to handle lately. I'm just scared something's going to happen with him. I can't stop being scared now all the time. I'm worried someone is going to hurt me. I really think I've gone too far this time. I need someone to help me

Then there was a section in the middle all scribbled out. I strained my eyes to look down at the paper but I couldn't make out what it said. She'd scribbled it out hard with her pen, making small rips in the paper at some points. Below was another short paragraph.

He drives a white subaru. If anything happens to me and someone is reading this just keep an eye out. I'm probably being overdramatic but I DON'T KNOW. It feels like I'm going crazy!!!

Thehandwriting got even more garbled near the end, to the point where I couldbarely read what she was saying. I slammed the journal shut and then clutchedit close to my chest. This was it. This was the key to what had happened. V wasThatcher, and he was the one who had hit me and my sister. There was no otherway of explaining it. The diary spelled it all out so clearly, even if it hadbeen rushed. She and V had had a fight, and then he'd hurt her.

Thatcher didn't drive a whiteSubaru. But he did drive a white Camry. Wren might have just gotten the carmodel wrong.

Even as I thought it, it felt wrong--felt impossible for Thatcher to do something like that--but I couldn't deny what Wren had written pretty clearly, right before the accident.

I could feel my hands shakingas I dumped out my backpack on the bed and shoved the diary inside of it. Igrabbed a can of pepper spray from the bottom of my underwear drawer and shovedit in there as well. Pepper spray wasn't going to do much against someone whowas willing to literally run over my sister and me with a car, but it was all Ihad.

Jess was still waiting for meoutside when I jogged back downstairs. My mom stood up when she saw me headingtowards the door and said, "Annabelle, don't you go out that door. You havesome explaining to do. Where the hell have you been?!"

I just ignored her. There weremore important things to deal with, and I could deal with angry parents later.

I jogged to Jess's car, myparents on my heels, yelling at me to stop. "Let's go," I told Jess, and shestepped on the gas."Where are we going?" sheasked, a gleam of excitement in her eye.

I ignored her question,pulling out my phone. I had one more person to call. I was madder at him thanI ever had been before, but still, he was quite possibly the only person whocould help right now.

Val answered on the firstring. "I've been calling you," he said, exasperated. "I talked to Thatcher. Iknow that you know...that I'm not V."

"Yeah, I know that you lied tome," I snapped.