The Last Wish of Sasha Cade

“Who was that?” Elijah asks.

“Just someone from my past.” I’m actually smiling, believe it or not. “But right now, all I care about is my future.”

***

When I get home from work, there’s a thick manila envelope on my bed. It claims to be from the PCHS Scholarship Fund, not that one exists. Whatever this next adventure is, I’ll get to share it with Elijah as we move forward together, finding our place in this world that took away someone special, but also brought us this gift.

I rip open the letter, going through the contents one by one. An envelope of cash, a letter addressed to The Parents of Raquel Clearwater, a plastic hotel key, printed-out reservations and a gas station gift card.

Happy tears flood my eyes as I grip Sasha’s handwritten letter in my hand. Of course she knew exactly what we’d need.

Yep, I’m sending you guys on vacation! Trust me, you’ll have a blast.

Love you and miss you always,

Sasha

Chapter Twenty-Four

I can’t believe Mom fell for it. Following Sasha’s instructions, I dropped the fake letter in a mailbox near Izzy’s, and the next day, it arrived in our mailbox. Printed on card stock, it congratulated the parents of Raquel Clearwater for their daughter’s award, an “Excellence in Education Weekend Getaway” at the Black Bear Lodge in Dallas, Texas, along with ten other high school seniors. My parents then spent an entire dinner telling me how proud they were of me for keeping up my grades, even during the aftermath of losing my best friend.

One week later, I’m tossing my suitcase into the trunk of my car.

“Always keep a full tank of gas,” Mom says. She’s in her pajamas because it’s six in the morning, her feet shifting on the cold concrete. “Fill it up again when you’re at half a tank. And keep your phone charged. You never know when there will be an emergency.”

It’s over two hundred miles to Dallas, and I’ve never driven even half that far away, so she’s sort of freaking out. “You don’t have to worry, Mom. I’ll be extra safe. I’ll walk around with blinking lights and a reflector vest if you want.”

She rolls her eyes and then pulls me into a hug. “I’m your mother, Raquel. It’s my job to worry.”

I start up my car and blast the heater since it takes a while to get warm. Mom puts a hand on top of my open car door and rattles off a few more safety warnings. Don’t leave the resort after dark, never drink anything from a stranger, don’t carry all your cash on you at once.

“I sure hope you kids have fun. Black Bear Lodge is kind of … juvenile. You and Sasha got bored of it when you were about fourteen.”

“Fifteen,” I say, recalling two summers ago when we told her parents we’d like to go to the Guadalupe River for spring break instead of the lodge. It was the first year since we were eight that we didn’t go to the resort famous for having the country’s biggest indoor water park. Mom’s right about it being kind of … young. I can’t imagine the high school actually choosing Black Bear Lodge for a high school student event. Of course, they didn’t.

I wait until I’m out of our neighborhood and on the main road before I set the GPS to the address I’d programmed last night.

Mr. Reinhart took in Elijah the day he messaged him on Facebook. Elijah formally quit working at Monterrey’s Auto Body Shop for the second time, and then he moved into the Reinharts’ spare bedroom. I had hoped something good would come from Elijah reconnecting with the man who had shown kindness to him all those years ago, but this is better than I imagined. I even sleep easier at night knowing Elijah is no longer sleeping on some shady guy’s couch. Things are only going to get better from now on. I can feel it.

The Reinharts live in a little ranch-style house in the suburbs just outside the Austin city limits. As soon as my tires roll to a stop, I notice movement in the open garage. I park and wave at Elijah. He’s standing next to his motorcycle, which is parked next to an old Crown Vic. A tall man with a full head of solid white hair is beside him, and they both turn to look at me.

There’s an awkward second where I wonder if I should get out and introduce myself, but then Elijah shakes the guy’s hand and jogs across the lawn, climbing into my car. The scent of his cinnamon gum is everywhere.

“Hey.” He grins, tossing an overstuffed backpack into the back seat of my car. With a jerk of his head, his unruly black locks shake away from his eyes, which lock on mine. “Want to stop for coffee?”

He smells like heaven rolled up in that distinct scent of boy, and that glimmer in his gaze knocks all the breath out of my lungs.

“Yeah,” I say, clearing my throat. I put the car into drive and focus on the road in front of me. “Coffee.”

I can feel his eyes on me while I drive, but we’re silent for a long time. This is the start of something new. Elijah and me, together and figuring out our life. This is big, this is powerful, and I know we both feel it.

“So, that was Mr. Reinhart’s house.” Elijah drums his fingers on the inside of the passenger door. “Turns out he’s even nicer than I remembered. He says I can stay as long as I need to.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

“Sorry my emails have been sporadic. Anthony is pissed at me for ditching him. I had to get as much of my stuff as I could from the apartment with only my motorcycle, so it took me a few trips with a backpack. Then, Mr. Reinhart and his wife are like the sweetest people on earth. They fe

ed me and clothe me and want to talk about things. I didn’t want to be rude and ask for the Wi-Fi password in the middle of that.”