Page 118 of Broken

I’m always watching out for you. I’m so proud of you. I love you. I miss you.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. Embrace Life.

I was crying at the end, and the room stayed silent for several seconds before a rushed conversation broke loose. But I was still lost in my thoughts. There couldn’t have been a better gift. Those words were exactly what I’d needed to hear, and somehow, Daddy had known we’d still need him and found a way to come through.

“Annie?”

“Huh?” I looked up, surprised to see just Mom and Jet in the room, both of them watching me with concerned and hurried eyes.

“Are you coming, or are you staying here with your mom to wait for Izzy?” Jet asked.

“Coming.” I stood up, because there was no way I could just wait around while my sister was missing. Taking a moment to fold the precious letter, I placed it in the drawer of my nightstand and gave my mother a hug. “We’ll find her.” I felt it now.

Mom choked on a sob, and I rushed out the door with Jet to his Mustang.

Chapter 31

ISABEL

I’d been driving for hours now, something that normally would help me think clearly, but my mind was still racing, everything running together in an agonizing mix too confusing to sort.

There were a few times when I’d considered stopping, but the only places I wanted to go, I couldn’t let myself. They would only unleash more hurt on my already battered soul.

It was the first time since my outburst in the hospital that the numbness completely evaded me, and my emotions felt strong and raw now that they had their chance to surface. Occasionally, I’d scream out at the frustration of it, when it felt like too much to bear, but mostly, I just drove.

I really wasn’t going very far, but the urge to take those unknown roads was there, a temptation to escape the hurt that waited for me back home. I wasn’t ready to go back to that.

But I was chicken to do it. To leave. It was a hazard of living the small-town life where everything had always been familiar. So instead, I kept driving through the familiar, hoping that, eventually, the sting in my emotions would ease so I could think and feel like a rational human being. If that could ever be possible again.

At some point, the white noise of the old engine’s roar started to fade, and my truck began to slow. At first, I was confused, but fury flashed through me when I looked down at the dash lights behind the wheel.

Clutching my good hand tighter in a white-knuckled grip, I pulled off to the side of the road just as my truck slowed to a stop, and I smacked my hand against the wheel in frustration, the horn sounding abruptly in the otherwise silent night.

No, not here.I would beg to the heavens because it was too close tothere.

How stupid was I for not watching the fuel gauge? How many gas stations had I passed now? And not once had I evenconsideredI might need to stop.

Now, I have no choice but to call someone and go back home…Or brave it.My mind whispered at the end.

I shuddered at the crippling thought. I wasn’t ready to go back yet, was almost sure I couldn’t handle it. Or handle here. Avoidance was the whole point of driving.

Maybe I could wait a bit. Just sit in the truck cab.At least, it was warm here. My decision made, I laid my head against the wheel and let my thoughts continue to spin out of control, but eventually, the warm air that had filled the space began to fade. I shivered at the wintry temperature and debated, reluctantly realizing it was time to give in. I’d have to call someone.

My hand searched the seat for my purse, but it was empty. I looked down, expecting to see it lying on the floorboard, but thatwas bare, too, aside from a magazine and a pair of Annie’s flip flops.

“Perfect. Absolutely fucking perfect.” Hadn’t enough gone wrong without having to deal with this, too? Struggling to push the confusing mess of thoughts aside, I tried to think, but my brain just wasn’t cooperating, and the idea of sitting still in my truck the rest of the night just about drove my mind over the edge.

So, with reckless abandon of everything I’d been warning myself of, I threw the driver’s side door open and hopped down to the mixture of grass and gravel-like tar below.

I almost regretted it when I felt the cold, piercing wind of a new front bite into my face and arms, but I slammed the door shut, choosing to ignore it. The cold was nothing compared to the raw emotion that tumbled around inside me.

TUCKER

The roads were more deserted than I expected them to be with people out celebrating the New Year, but then again, it was nearly three in the morning now. Most people had probably already made their way home.

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