Amelia Allen feels stuck.
To an outsider, her life must look beautiful. She has a steady job, a relationship, and several years of her twenties left to figure out what more she wants out of life. But nothing is as shimmery as it appears from the su...
When Amelia stirred, there was a person standing in the corner of the room.
Her heart lunged in her chest, fingers clenching the blankets as she suddenly sat upright only to realize that it was, of course, simply a restless Henry pacing to and fro.
A restless Henry, who rushed to her side when she startled, his side of the mattress dipping as he shifted to sit next to her. The look on his face, one of pained familiarity, suggested he thought it was a nightmare that had jolted her awake.
"It's nothing," she mumbled before he could ask, rubbing at her sleepy eyes. "Just my mind playing tricks on me."
For that first fraction of a second when she saw him—before she could process that he wasn't laying next to her anymore—she'd thought, Colton. That he had somehow figured out their plan and come to put an end to it.
"We were going to let you sleep a little bit longer," Henry said quietly, and it was then that she noticed that the door was left slightly ajar. He must have already been downstairs to check on Liam.
"I think he was going to start a pot of coffee for us," he added, as if able to read her thoughts.
Amelia nodded, though she'd probably pass on the caffeine; she was well-rested enough that all it would likely do was make her even more anxious. What she really needed was a hairbrush and some mouthwash.
As she slunk into the bathroom to freshen up, it dawned on her how comical it was that they were just dallying about like it was a normal morning. Then again, the three of them wouldn't be waking up under the same roof on a normal morning. The feeling of nervous anticipation that had settled in her stomach ironically reminded her somewhat of how she'd felt as a child when their family was about to leave for a vacation, or on Christmas morning—eager in a way that hurt.
The idea crossed her mind to make a stop at her place to get some clean clothes. The ones she'd worn out to the bar last night felt stale and grimy and putting on dirty clothes was one of her least favorite sensations in the world, but there wasn't much use in putting on a fresh outfit only to trudge through the woods in it.
So dirty clothes it was. She pulled them on and washed her face even though that too was probably useless, and when it was all done she went downstairs to find the boys.
They were both at the kitchen table, sipping on their coffee. The platter of leftover gingerbread men that she and Henry had made yesterday was laying in front of them and it occurred to her that yesterday already felt like a lifetime ago.
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It had all started with a gun.
Amelia could remember the very first thing she saw when she woke up on that day she learned that Lily had disappeared. It was right there on the nightstand: Colton's gun.
She hoped it wouldn't have to end with one, but she didn't want to take her chances.
"Can we stop by my dad's house?" she asked as they all piled into Liam's car. "I need to grab something."
