Searching for Eve

Blue

Blue

Drew

I cursed myself. Why did I let them get to me? They lost that right years ago.

I pulled out my phone to call Shaun, only to be greeted by an email.

D,

I'm safe. I'm starting over, somewhere I can be me. Somewhere I can follow my passion. Somewhere people don't know.

Tell Kay I love her and that she knows where I am. Just tell her blue if she needs a hint.

This is the final clue.

E.

I let out a sigh of relief. "She's safe."

She's safe. Eve was safe.

I quickly dialed Kay's number.

"Hello?" She had just woken up.

"Kay. Kay, it's me. She's safe. Eve is safe."

She laughed. "Slow down. Take a breath."

I chuckled, letting myself calm down from the sudden burst of energy. "Eve emailed me. She's safe."

There was a pause on the other side of the line, and I knew she was biting her bottom lip, trying to decide how to react. "Are you sure it was her?"

"With every bone in my body." I replied. "Look, I'm right outside your house. Come to the door."

"Why, D? You can just come in."

"Please?" I begged. When she started to argue, I added, "I know you're dressed for the day."

"Fine." She replied. I chuckled when the door immediately opened.

I wrapped her in my arms. "God, I just needed to see you."

"D, I'm not going anywhere."

Kissing the top of her head, I responded with a chuckle. "I know. Sometimes I just need to give you a hug to prove you're real."

"Babe, you already have my heart. You don't have to smooth talk me anymore."

"It's not smooth talking anymore." I said. "Now let's go inside before the neighbors call your mom."

She nodded, pushing the wooden door open. "D?" She asked.

"Yes, love?"

"Did she say anything about me?"

"Come here." I said, leading her to the couch and pulling her onto my lap. She looked so scared, so broken. "She said you knew where she was."

"But..."

I grabbed her hand and began rubbing circles on it to calm her down. "Would you like to read the email?"

She nodded, curling into me.

Handing her my phone, I was careful to observe the way her eyebrows knitted together. "What, love?"

"There's no password." She said.

"Never has been. I trust you, and I have nothing to hide."

She smiled. "Thank you, D."

I smiled in response.

A few moments later, her eyes were scanning the screen as she chewed her lip nervously.

"D, there's never been a blue."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'll show you." She said, getting off the couch and heading to the stairs. I followed her steps.

When we entered her room, she shut the door. "We had a trip planned for our senior year--a worldwide adventure. Thanks to my OCD, each place had a color. The dot on the map matched the folder. Red, green, yellow, purple, orange, black, turquoise...no blue."

As she spoke, she was dragging out boxes from underneath her bed. The last item was a map.

"No blue." I repeated, looking at the dots.