Without warning, she shoved her feet into a pair of sneakers and ignored Libby’s pleading. Then, she raced down the stairs, and Libby stood, peering out at her over the railing, her voice carrying down the stairwell but to no avail. Annie didn’t turn back once.
Libby went back inside and pressed her face to the glass window, spotting Annie’s hunched form easily.
Libby’s fingers were trembling when she tried to dial the police.
After a frustrating phone call during which she nearly threw her phone against the wall, she hung up. She dialed Charlotte’s number and clutched the phone to her ear, praying she picked it up.
“Hey, I was just about to call you.”
“Annie ran away,” Libby said, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “Well, she didn’t run away, not according to the police. She stormed out. I followed her again today, and I think she knows because a friend of hers saw me, but I—”
“Slow down,” Charlotte interrupted in a soft voice. “I’m going to need you to tell me what happened again, but take a breath first.”
Libby let the curtain fall into place and began to pace. “I followed Annie again. When they closed the clinic earlier today, I went to her school and followed her to the library. She met up with the same guy, and then, I followed him to that abandoned warehouse on Linden Road.”
Charlotte sucked in a harsh breath. “And? What did you find? Wait, I shouldn’t be encouraging this. Libby, you really do need to be careful. What if he really is in a gang?”
Libby ran a hand through her hair. “I couldn’t tell. There were too many boxes, and then Annie’s friend from school, Marissa…she saw me, and I think she told Annie.”
Charlotte released a breath. “What makes you think that?”
“Because we really got into it when I got home. Annie was waiting to pounce, and she knows I’ve been rifling through her things…”
“Oh, Libby. It’s okay. She knows you love and care about her. You’re just trying to protect her. She’ll get over it.”
Tears fell down Libby’s cheeks. “What if she doesn’t come home? The police said I can’t file a missing person’s report until it’s been twenty-four hours.”
“Do you have any of her friends’ numbers? Any parents who might know where she is?”
Libby frowned. “No, I…I don’t have anything.”
“She’ll come home,” Charlotte repeated after a brief pause. “I know she will. In the meantime, I’ll wait with you.”
Libby was half-asleep on the couch when she heard the front door. She snatched her phone where it fell in between the cushions, heart hammering against her chest. “I think she’s back.”
“Remember to stay calm,” Charlotte whispered. “Otherwise, she might just leave again.”
Annie shoved the door open the rest of the way and stopped when she saw Libby. Scoffing, Annie stormed past her and down the hallway. When Annie slammed the door to her room shut, Libby sank to her knees and burst into tears.
“What am I going to do, Charlotte? I don’t want to lose her.”
Because right now, Annie felt too far away, with too much of a chasm between them to ever be crossed.
Chapter Eighteen
Her heart was pounding in her ears as she lifted a hand and let it linger in the air. Her stomach was in tight knots, but a voice in the back of her head was screaming, telling her to turn tail and run in the opposite direction.
Don’t be ridiculous. It’s going to be fine.
Frowning, Charlotte made herself rap on the door and then shifted from one foot to the other. She shoved both hands into the pockets of her jeans and waited. A long moment passed where nothing happened. Charlotte was going to knock again when she heard the latch being undone. Then, her mother’s tired face appeared in the doorway. Emily’s face lit up as she threw the door open the rest of the way and pulled Charlotte in for a hug.
Her mom smelled like sugar and cinnamon like she usually did.
It made some of the knots in Charlotte’s stomach loosen.
She hugged her mom back with just as much fierceness and exhaled. Tears pricked the back of her eyes as they stood in the doorway and held on to each other. Slowly, Charlotte drew back and gave her mom a weak smile.
Wordlessly, Emily stepped aside, and Charlotte ducked in.
