Page 26 of Big Risks

Lexi:Brooke said you are in town. You can stay in the apartment as long as you need to.

Another friend is offering to help, no questions asked. Lexi and Noah have an apartment in their walkout basement and have let everyone from Noah's sister to the residents' family stay in it.

"Want to stay here tonight?" Brooke offers. "Guest room's always ready, though I know Lexi probably offered you the apartment."

I consider it. "Yeah, I’ll stay tonight, but I should head back tomorrow. I can’t run from this forever."

"Get some rest." Brooke walks me to the guest room. "And Hailey? Try to remember that everyone's fighting battles you can't see.”

Chapter 8

Walker

From the moment she left, the house felt different without her in it. Emptier. Colder. I walk from room to room, touching the places where Hailey sat, stood, or even leaned against the counter.

Olivia is with Mrs. Winters at a library reading carnival thing they are doing. They will be gone all day, which is a blessing. I don't know how to explain that Hailey is gone or how to tell her it's my fault.

My phone buzzes. Jace, for the third time this morning.

Jace:You alive?

Me:Unfortunately.

Three dots appear immediately.

Jace:Coming over. Got beer.

I don't respond. Even though I don't want company, I know Jace well enough to understand that silence won't deter him. Twenty minutes later, his truck rumbles into my driveway. I hear his boots on the porch, then the door opening. He doesn't knock anymore, hasn't in years.

"You look like shit," he announces, kicking the door closed behind him.

"Thanks."

He sets a six-pack on the coffee table and drops onto my couch. "Heard Hailey left town."

My head snaps up. "What?"

"Small town," he shrugs. "Becky Henderson was telling Mrs. Winters that Hailey asked her to water some plants because she was out of town. Heard it when I dropped the twins and Delaney at the Library.”

The room tilts slightly. I hadn't considered that she might actually leave Big Wood. I thought—stupidly—that I'd have time to fix this. To explain.

"She's gone? How long?" My voice sounds strange, hollow.

"That's the word. And I have no idea. Is Liv at the library, too?"

"Yeah, with Mrs. Winters." I sink into the armchair across from him. "I fucked up, Jace."

"No shit." He cracks open a beer and slides it toward me. "What exactly did you do?"

I take the beer but don't drink it. "She found the letters."

"The ones to Riley?"

I nod.

“How did she find them? Was she snooping around your house?”

“No, apparently Riley’s grandma kept them and she found them in the attic when she moved into the house.” I tell him while taking another swig of my beer.

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