10 Years Later

“I don’t know. I called around last night and I looked online, but I couldn’t find anything,” she said. “There has to be an explanation, Cammie.”

“Yeah. You just don’t want to say it out loud.”

“He’s not fucking dead,” she said tersely. “So stop jumping to the worst-case scenario.”

“Why are you yelling at me?”

“Because, damn it. I refuse to believe that this kind of thing could happen to you again. I won’t accept it. I won’t.” Kristy’s eyes glistened with tears, telling me she was fighting her own fears and doubts. “So there’s some kind of explanation about where he is and where he’s been. Okay?” She swiped at her eyes, her expression pleading with me to be strong.

“I really wish I could believe that.” I sank back into the covers and called Dalton’s phone. Straight to voice mail again.

“Well, start believing,” she insisted.

“I want to. I really do. I hate sitting here doing nothing,” I said with a groan. “Not knowing is what’s truly driving me insane.”

She rolled her eyes at me and huffed. “I’m aware of exactly what’s driving you insane.”

“Then tell me you’ve thought of something that we could do? I can’t spend another day not knowing where he is. This is ridiculous,” I whined.

“Call his cell again,” she demanded.

“Already did. Straight to voice mail.”

“Where the fuck is he?” she shouted at the ceiling in frustration, and I started to laugh. Kristy narrowed her glare at me. “What the hell are you laughing at?”

“It’s just that I’m the one who should be angry, not you,” I said, still smiling.

“Do you want to get out of here? Go see a movie or something?” She moved to sit up in bed. “Something to distract us from all of this?”

Her suggestion made my stomach turn. The idea of not being home didn’t interest me. Even though I knew that no one would come knocking on my door to tell me what had happened to Dalton, I didn’t want to rule out the possibility completely. If someone came while I was gone, I’d never forgive myself.

I let out a sigh. “Movies sound great. But let’s do a rental, so we don’t have to actually leave the house.”

Kristy let out an annoyed groan. “Ugh. Fine. Just another Saturday with Cammie. Can we at least move from the bedroom into the living room? I can’t stay in bed all day.” She gave me a wry look. “At least, not with you.”

“I don’t want to stay in bed with you either.” I stuck out my tongue before tossing back the covers and hopping out.

“Good. We’re out of wine, so I’ll go to the store. And I’ll grab some pizza. You might not be able to stomach

eating, but I’m starving.” She stretched her arms above her head before lowering to the floor for some yoga poses.

“I’ll take a shower and pick the movies,” I offered.

“Perfect.”

I heard the front door shut as I turned on the water for my shower. For the first time since Dalton had disappeared, I was alone. Reaching for my cell, I dialed his number again. Straight to voice mail. Dialing it again and hoping for a different response, I almost felt hopeful when it took a second longer for his voice mail to kick on than it had before.

Next I opened the text message screen, and was shocked by the number of messages I had sent him. I winced when I scrolled through them, because with no response from him, the text window looked embarrassingly like a stalker’s. I knew I was acting like a crazy person, but all logic and restraint had flown the coop the second he didn’t show up for our date. Resisting the urge to send Dalton another text, I closed the text window.

After my shower, I dressed comfortably in a pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting shirt. I grabbed a few extra blankets from my linen closet and headed toward the couch, where I tossed them for me and Kristy to use during the movies.

My mind wouldn’t stop racing, running the gamut of emotions from fear to anger and back again. I was thankful for the distraction when Kristy finally came back, her arms filled with groceries and a giant pizza box.

“Are we feeding the whole complex?” I teased.

“I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying. So I got lots of stuff just in case, you ungrateful little—” She stopped herself. “Did you pick a movie?”

“I picked four.”