Obsession

Chapter 36

Leo

It feels like this drive is taking forever. The traffic is worse than usual since it's early and everyone is headed to work. I keep checking my phone, hoping Mara will try contacting me again. So far, she hasn't, but her phone call gave me hope. She's alive. I heard her voice myself. Now, I've just got to get to her before Kai does.

"How much longer?" I ask Anna impatiently.

She sighs. "I told you, just a few more minutes."

"But you said that last time."

"I know, but this time I mean it. It's only like, fifteen minutes away," she says, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her.

"How do you know she's there anyway?" I ask.

She shrugs. "It's her place. She hasn't been there in a while, at least, not that I know of. It's a park just outside of town that has a bunch of hiking trails. There's one that goes behind this really awesome waterfall. Mara and her mom have a picture in front of it."

Suddenly, I remember Mara telling me about the waterfall once before. The picture with her mom is the one she keeps on her nightstand, next to her bed. She said she used to go there to think, but why would she go there now? She knows Kai's after her. She knows all of us are worried sick about her.

Anna glances over at me. "You're probably wondering why she's there at a time like this."

"Honestly, yeah. Doesn't she know we're all looking for her? Why would just just run off like that?" I ask, trying to make sense of all this.

"She's not running off. If she's there, she has a reason to be. I have a feeling it may have something to do with her mom."

"Her mom?" I ask, furrowing my brows in confusion. "No one has seen or heard from her in weeks. Kai's not even a suspect in her disappearance. What would her mom have to do with any of this?"

"Who knows?" Anna shrugs. "I for one still believe Kai had something to do with her disappearing. I don't care what kind of alibi he has."

I look out the window and sigh. I just need to see Mara, to make sure she's okay. After that, all these rouge thoughts bouncing around in my head can finally start to settle down.

We pull up to the park about a few minutes later and get out. There's not a lot of people here since it's so early. I've never been here before, but something about it seems oddly familiar to me. I follow Anna through the entrance and to a clearing that has about five different trails going in different directions.

"Which way do we go?" I ask her.

She studies each one for a moment. "This way," she finally says, taking the trail named Red Wing. It starts off through thick, leafy green foliage but starts to clear out a little the higher the ground becomes. I can hear rushing water in the distance, but I still don't see the source.

We keep walking, higher and higher, until we reach the top of the hiking trail. I look down and see a magnificent waterfall that's maybe thirty feet tall. Cascades of water fall over the edge of a sharp cliff and into the raging river below.

There's a trail that leads behind the waterfall and wraps around to the other side of the park. "How do we get down there?" I ask Anna.

She looks around before pointing to a staircase to the right of the trail we're on. I follow her down the stairs until we reach the bottom. The ground is wet and mossy. The sound of the water is much louder here, like it was when I was talking to Mara.

I look around, hoping to find her waiting for us. I'm still not completely sure this is where she was when she called. She could be miles from here for all I know.