brought over.”
“Nonna brought you ravioli?” He perks up.
“Yes. He’s lucky I’m so thoughtful and saved him some. You can think again, sucker. You aren’t touching my carbs.”
“Talk to her father.”
Mrs. Russo’s suggestion from our first meeting is the thought I wake to. In her voice too. Almost like a subconscious shove in the direction I need to go—or, at the very least, the place I need to be.
The Russo household.
Like most people in Holly Woods, they’ve lived in the same house for probably at least thirty years. All Daniela’s belongings are going to be somewhere in that house, and I hope like hell I’ll be able to look through them. You never know what you’ll find. A fact that’s both terrifying and exciting.
Honestly, at this point, I just want to find something. Anything. I don’t care what as long as it can help a little. Even lend to something that may help. Ideas, hints, hints of a hint. Literally anything.
Talking to her father though. That seems...oh, I don’t know. Rude? Inappropriate? Accusatory?
Unfortunately, that was all she gave me. Talk to her father.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe it’s as simple as Daniela and Mr. Russo’s having had a close bond, maybe closer than she had with her mom, so she may have told him things her mom didn’t know. Maybe things he was supposed to take to the grave.
God, though. How many issues can a fifteen-year-old have? All I wanted was my grandmother to stop sniffing out potential future dates and setting me up with her friends’ sons.
Yeah. Nonna started me early.
It’s no wonder I’m a rebel in her eyes.
“You’re thinking very loudly.” Drake rolls over when I come back into the bedroom from the bathroom. His blue eyes are bright, like he’s been awake for a while, and he sits up when I drop onto the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
I huff out a long breath and look at him. I wish I had a real answer to that. My head is pounding, sharp bolts of pain beating against my forehead with the stress of this entire situation. The fact that I have such a bad headache so soon into it doesn’t bode well for my sanity.
“Noelle?”
I open my mouth and close it again. The only answer I can give right now is a shrug of my shoulder, and I know why.
The immediate urgency aside, it’s hit me that we’ve found Daniela’s body. A girl I used to be really good friends with. A girl I went to the movies with, giggled about boys in math class with, and even attempted to get on the cheer squad with our freshman year.
Drake doesn’t say a single word as he shuffles over the bed and pulls me back against his body. His strong arms wrap around me, cocooning me against him. Emotion runs rife through my veins, and I squeeze my eyes shut to make sure it stays there. Inside. Locked up.
He softly kisses the top of my head, and every time he brushes his thumb back and forth across my lower back, the sadness inside me dulls a little bit.
I don’t know how he does it, but I think he’s a little bit magic.
“It’s okay,” he whispers into my hair, squeezing me. “You were good friends. It’s okay to feel sad, bella. ”
“Is it?” I ask, my voice just as soft as his was. “Because I don’t know. It’s been years since I even gave her a single thought, but now that we’ve found her, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
What would her life have been like had she not disappeared? Would she be successful? Single? Married? Would she be a mom? Would she still be in Holly Woods, or would she be living somewhere else?
Would she be happy if she were alive today?
I hope so.
I like to think she would be.
“Of course.” Drake tilts my face up with two fingers and shifts so he can meet my eyes. “She was a huge part of your life, no matter how long ago it was. She mattered to you. You don’t just stop caring about people who once mattered to you, even if it’s been years since you thought of them
“Nonna brought you ravioli?” He perks up.
“Yes. He’s lucky I’m so thoughtful and saved him some. You can think again, sucker. You aren’t touching my carbs.”
“Talk to her father.”
Mrs. Russo’s suggestion from our first meeting is the thought I wake to. In her voice too. Almost like a subconscious shove in the direction I need to go—or, at the very least, the place I need to be.
The Russo household.
Like most people in Holly Woods, they’ve lived in the same house for probably at least thirty years. All Daniela’s belongings are going to be somewhere in that house, and I hope like hell I’ll be able to look through them. You never know what you’ll find. A fact that’s both terrifying and exciting.
Honestly, at this point, I just want to find something. Anything. I don’t care what as long as it can help a little. Even lend to something that may help. Ideas, hints, hints of a hint. Literally anything.
Talking to her father though. That seems...oh, I don’t know. Rude? Inappropriate? Accusatory?
Unfortunately, that was all she gave me. Talk to her father.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it. Maybe it’s as simple as Daniela and Mr. Russo’s having had a close bond, maybe closer than she had with her mom, so she may have told him things her mom didn’t know. Maybe things he was supposed to take to the grave.
God, though. How many issues can a fifteen-year-old have? All I wanted was my grandmother to stop sniffing out potential future dates and setting me up with her friends’ sons.
Yeah. Nonna started me early.
It’s no wonder I’m a rebel in her eyes.
“You’re thinking very loudly.” Drake rolls over when I come back into the bedroom from the bathroom. His blue eyes are bright, like he’s been awake for a while, and he sits up when I drop onto the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
I huff out a long breath and look at him. I wish I had a real answer to that. My head is pounding, sharp bolts of pain beating against my forehead with the stress of this entire situation. The fact that I have such a bad headache so soon into it doesn’t bode well for my sanity.
“Noelle?”
I open my mouth and close it again. The only answer I can give right now is a shrug of my shoulder, and I know why.
The immediate urgency aside, it’s hit me that we’ve found Daniela’s body. A girl I used to be really good friends with. A girl I went to the movies with, giggled about boys in math class with, and even attempted to get on the cheer squad with our freshman year.
Drake doesn’t say a single word as he shuffles over the bed and pulls me back against his body. His strong arms wrap around me, cocooning me against him. Emotion runs rife through my veins, and I squeeze my eyes shut to make sure it stays there. Inside. Locked up.
He softly kisses the top of my head, and every time he brushes his thumb back and forth across my lower back, the sadness inside me dulls a little bit.
I don’t know how he does it, but I think he’s a little bit magic.
“It’s okay,” he whispers into my hair, squeezing me. “You were good friends. It’s okay to feel sad, bella. ”
“Is it?” I ask, my voice just as soft as his was. “Because I don’t know. It’s been years since I even gave her a single thought, but now that we’ve found her, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
What would her life have been like had she not disappeared? Would she be successful? Single? Married? Would she be a mom? Would she still be in Holly Woods, or would she be living somewhere else?
Would she be happy if she were alive today?
I hope so.
I like to think she would be.
“Of course.” Drake tilts my face up with two fingers and shifts so he can meet my eyes. “She was a huge part of your life, no matter how long ago it was. She mattered to you. You don’t just stop caring about people who once mattered to you, even if it’s been years since you thought of them
Similar Books
