Page 1 of All the Missing Pieces

PROLOGUE

RIDLEY

“You looklike I’m dragging you to the gallows,” I said, glancing over at my sister as I headed down the dirt path toward the crowd below.

She was my mirror image in every way yet somehow managed to be my complete opposite. While my blond hair was a wild tangle of waves, hers was tamed into sleek curls. I’d opted for a favorite sundress and flip-flops, and Avery was in khaki shorts and a white cap-sleeved blouse.

My twin sent me a droll look. “I think I’d take the gallows over the Greeks’ bonfire.”

I rolled my eyes. “You need to go to one party before you graduate.”

Avery let out a huff of air, smoothing hair that was already perfectly in place. “I’ve been to plenty of parties. I’m just not into frat boys chanting, ‘Chug!’”

“They do look like overgrown Neanderthals half the time, but it’s part of the quintessential college experience. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on mocking their keg-stand form.”

A laugh bubbled out of Avery’s mouth. More like a giggle than anything. A sound that reminded me of childhood. Of countless nights spent in our room at home, whispering aboutanything and everything as we stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. The ones over my bed were a chaotic spray with no rhyme or reason, but Avery’s were arranged to perfectly replicate the Orion constellation.

She knocked her shoulder lightly into mine, grinning. “I do love to critique a boy-man.”

I couldn’t help but snort. “We should’ve stolen those numbered cards from the gym that they use for gymnastics meets.”

Avery shook her head. “I want to believe you’re joking but I know you’re not.”

I shrugged. “Gotta use those team captain keys for something fun.”

She stared at me as if I’d sprouted another head. Avery took responsibility seriously, from her classes to her role as captain of the women’s lacrosse team. Her dedication had led to great things: graduating with honors, a scholarship to an incredible physical therapy graduate program that would start in the fall, and a state championship for her team.

But me? I was still waffling. Unsure of what I wanted to do, I’d ended up majoring in journalism with a minor in environmental studies. Neither were especially calling to me. But it wouldn’t matter soon. I’d have to take whatever job I managed to land.

Avery shifted, her whole body turning toward mine as she instantly read the change in my mood. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, forcing a smile. “Nothing. Just thinking about how tomorrow’s the end of an era.” We’d walk across that stage and nothing would ever be the same.

My sister’s face softened as she looped her arm through mine and musical strains from the party below wafted up to us. “Come to Chicago with me. We can share the apartment, and you can get a job in the city.”

There was a part of me that wanted that. To keep things just as they were. Avery and I had been together since the womb, and this was the first time we’d ever be separated. Just thinking about it made an ache take root in my chest. But I knew Chicago wasn’t for me. “I’d feel like a rat in a maze,” I admitted. I craved wide-open spaces, fresh air, and nature. Not smog and honking horns.

“There are a bunch of lake communities not far away from the city. Maybe one of those,” Avery suggested.

“Maybe,” I echoed. But she knew the word lacked any real commitment. Because I simply wasn’t sure what my purpose was.

I tugged on her arm, quickening our pace. “Come on. No future-talk for one night. You know Mom and Dad will be on me the moment graduation ends.”

Avery sighed. “Lead me down the plank, Captain Hook.”

I laughed and picked up my pace. Nestled in the Arizona mountains with plenty of outdoor activities and on the outskirts of a picturesque town that had lots of restaurants and bars for us to frequent, the small private college a couple of hours outside Phoenix had been an idyllic setting to get an education.

I’d miss it. The comfortability of it. The beauty. But I itched to see new places too. Different landscapes and terrains.

Music and voices got louder as we rounded a curve in the path and the party came into view. There were a handful of houses a few frats rented and a large bonfire in the center. Beyond it all was only trees—that and the faint outline of a mountain in the moonlight. That called to me more than the party, but I knew before long the buzz of the people and the music would catch hold.

Just as we approached the crowd, a handful of guys began chanting, “Chug! Chug! Chug!” as they lifted someone Irecognized from the men’s lacrosse team in the air and someone else held the tap to his mouth.

Avery sent me a sidelong look. “Three at best. His arms are already shaking.”

I barked out a laugh. “Hey, he’s one of yours. A jock. A lacrosse player at that.”

She shook her head. “Gonna have to talk to Coach Carter about upping their conditioning. This is just pathetic.”

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