Page 45 of One Little Lie
Preston opens his mouth to say something, but I end the call and sit on the floor. Resting my head on my knees, I hold both our phones in my hands at my sides. I’m wet and cold, but I fear Rylan might be in worse shape. The rain is way too fucking cold for summer. I guess that happens in the middle of the ocean.
Staring at our phones, I let my curiosity get the better of me, and I search my contacts for a name I thought I’d never call again. Rylan’s face appears, and I hold my breath while it connects.
Dermot Kennedy’s “Better Days” starts softly and crescendos as I take in the words, silently hating myself more than I ever thought possible.
“What did you do?” My words cut through the sound of summer rain as the wind whips all around, causing the tarp to flap wildly.
I must listen to that song at least a dozen times before my phone rings again and Preston’s face appears on the screen.
“We think she’s about three-quarters of a mile up the shore. Her watch pinged steadily until she hit that point, and then it went silent. How fast can you get there?”
I appreciate he gets straight to the point, but my mind is already processing the next steps.
“The golf cart is dead. I’ll have to run,” I bark. Preston cringes with guilt, and it gives me a small amount of satisfaction. “Which way do I go?”
Preston gives me directions as I put in my AirPods and place my phone in the pocket of a raincoat I unpacked earlier.
“Just tell me when I’m getting close,” I tell them as I take off sprinting. My feet hit the dirt road and I nearly fall flat on my face as my shoes slosh around in the muddy mess. “Fucking hell. The road’s a mess.”
“Okay, we’re tracking you. I’ll let you know when you arrive at her last known location.”
I grunt, but no words come. Rylan’s song for me plays on a loop in my head, and before I know it, Preston is yelling at me to stop.
“She cut out here. Search the area and then backtrack. Do you see anywhere she could take cover?”
Glancing around, I hold my hand to my head, attempting to shield my eyes from the heavy rain that’s falling in thick sheets all around me.
“I-I can barely see anything out here.”
“I’m scanning Google maps now. If you face camp, I think there’s a crop of trees at two o’clock. Do you see them?”
Turning in place, I squint, trying to make out my two o’clock. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I see them.”
“I would check there first. I don’t see anywhere else she could take cover.”
“Got it.”
I have to run back about twenty yards, but just before I get to the spot, my foot hits a crumbling patch of road, and my leg slides out from under me.
“Fuck me,” I scream as I go down.
“What? What happened?” Preston’s concerned voice comes through my AirPod.
“The goddamn road crumbled beneath me, and I pulled something. I’m fine.”
“Jesus.”
Standing, I wince as pain soars through my groin down into my hamstring. But then I see it. A flash of hot pink, just like the crop top Rylan was wearing, huddled beneath the tree, and I run toward her. The pain in my leg is forgotten as adrenaline takes over.
“Oh, God. I-I found her.”
Ripping the AirPods from my ears, I collapse next to Rylan. “Sweetheart? Are you okay? What happened?”
She raises her head to mine. Her tears mingle with rain, and she gives me a half smile.
All the air leaves my lungs as relief floods my veins. A need I’ve never experienced roars through my body so fast and fierce I don’t have time to think of the repercussions. I take her face in my hands, staring into her eyes where forever lives, and I do the worst thing I could do. I kiss her with every ounce of life I have left.
A kiss that says I’m so fucking sorry. A kiss that says I don’t know what I’m doing, but I need you more than air. A kiss that says this is the second biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life, and I immediately know I’m lying to myself again because there is no way in hell a mistake could ever feel this right.
