Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Why he stopped Lucas from helping me clean up, he means?
“Yes.” I’m squealing in my head. “Thank you.”
We load up the truck with everything left and tear down the tables and tent. Taking everything back to the shop, Codi, Farrow, and Noah help me unload. I hand off some treats to Farrow to take to Madoc’s, anxious to get over there, but I force myself to linger at Frosted just a little longer.
Codi stays with me, both of us washing every dish, counting out the register and separating the deposit, prepping for tomorrow. Rivertown next door is already setting up a station on the sidewalk for drinks later tonight, and the police have put up blocks at both ends of the street. Speakers are being set up now.
“Mace is outside somewhere,” Codi tells me. “I’ll stay here with her.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
She gives one of her nods and fastens the laundry bag for pickup in the morning.
We leave the shop, lock up, and I slide onto my bike, watching her melt into the crowd on High Street. Tossing my phone into the basket with my backpack, I pedal for Madoc’s, inhaling the heavy air cooled with the slightest breeze. The wind blows through my hair and dress, and a light layer of sweat dampens my arms, back, and neck as I cruise into my neighborhood.
I close my eyes. Just for a moment.
Then two.
Winslet MacCreary drove this road. I don’t know for sure, but it may as well be true. She lived here, and soon, the sun will set, drinks will flow, and monsters will come out to play again. Who would I have been in her day? The quiet one who wasn’t involved and never knew what was happening until it was too late? Would I have been her friend?
Or would I have been someone she came after for revenge because I was always a follower and never a leader?
Nevertheless, she’s watching me now. Maybe.
I open my eyes, the low rumble of an engine far behind me barely audible in the wind. But it’s there.
My heart thrums in my ears as I pass lantern-lit yards and keep going to the next house. Then, the next.
No other lights. No headlights beaming from behind, but the growl of the engine grows louder.
Closer.
The sound of distant thunder rolls, deeper than the engine somewhere behind me, and I comb my hand through my hair.
Every inch of my skin hums as the hair rises. It’s that feeling you get when you’re a kid and being chased, about to be tagged. Scared, but also thrilled. Like I feel when I’m alone with Lucas.
Closer…
Closer…
Turning down Madoc’s driveway, I see kids running around with sparklers on the lawn to the right and stop, listening to the car’s engine get louder and louder… I tighten my fists around the handlebars.
Then, the sound starts to fade. As if it’s passed by and is driving away.
I look behind me, the empty road beyond lonely and quiet. I blink, a mix of adrenaline with something like disappointment washing over me. Did I want it to follow me? Like with Deacon, I don’t know if I feel fear necessarily anymore. I mean, it’s had plenty of opportunity to run me down or chase me off the road, and it hasn’t. Maybe it’s him. Maybe it’s not. But I’m getting braver, hungry for answers now.
Pumping the pedals, I cruise to the front door and park my bike, grabbing the diary out of the backpack, as well as my phone. The driveway is filled with cars, and the party bus pulls out, off to pick up another batch of Shelburne Falls citizens who don’t want to drive tonight.
I head around the side, hoping to avoid my brothers for as long as possible. Music blasts from the speakers, several lawn games going on, and Madoc has two bars that I can see spread out on the property. He probably has another one in the house and another by the pool. People dance, the sound of billiards drifts through the open basement doors, and I smell cigar smoke somewhere. Madoc’s taken to sucking on one when he’s really relaxed.
Stopping, I take in the scene for a moment, a familiar sense of love for this town and how everywhere just feels like family.
Everywhere is home.
Everyone knows everyone, and everything is just so happy. I dig in my eyebrows, feeling the sky press down on my shoulders.
Walking up to the pool, I spot Hawke and everyone standing waist-deep, all of them enjoying a drink under their parents’ watchful eye. Dylan sees me first, and Hawke follows her gaze. A couple of years ago, I heard he had a party here, complete with soap suds everywhere. I missed it. I stayed at school most of that summer, getting ahead on extra classes. It wasn’t their fault I missed it. I did it to myself.