Kane opens the door and slides across the leather seat. The front door of the clubhouse opens and Knox walks out. With his eyes on us, he swiftly moves to the limousine. I shuffle over as he sits next to me and pulls the door shut.
Kane knocks on the glass panel between us and the driver, then the car moves forward. Apart from the gravel crunching under the tires, there’s a heavy silence between us. My chest pounds with the relentless beating of my heart. I lift my hand to my necklace and drag the heart charm across the chain over and over again.
Knox places his hand on my leg. He squeezes it in support. I glance at Kane. He’s frozen in place. His shoulders are hunched and he’s peering out the window blankly.
Arriving at the amusement park makes my pulse spike. The car pulls up at the entrance, and I look up to see the familiar large clown face that covers the entryway. Knox opens the car door and gets out first. I follow and wait for Kane. When he doesn’t come, I bend down to look inside. I give him a quivery smile because I understand his hesitation.
His lips are curved into a deep frown. When I look into his eyes, his fear distorts my vision. “I get it’s hard, but it’s only us today. We can focus on celebrating the life we had with her. Tonight is the time we can let out all our other emotions.” He stays seated, so I add, “Please, Kane,Ineedyoutoday.”
It wouldn’t be the same without him, and I’d like to think today would bring him a sense of closeness to her.
He reluctantly slides across the seat and gets out. Knox threads his fingers through mine, and I grab hold of Kane’s hand with my other to pull them up the stairs and toward the entry. This is what Misty and I used to do: grab their hands and pull them inside.
But this time, it’s just me.
After I get the VIP passes, we walk through the entrance and toward the rides. Everything looks the same, even though I haven’t been back in a long time—the smell of the food, the sound of the carnival music, and kids laughing in the background.
I look back at Kane. “Are you okay?”
His shoulders and torso loosen. “You’re right... I’ll do my best to focus on the positives.”
Kane looks around, then walks toward a cotton candy cart. He talks to the man, who is wearing a navy-blue uniform. The man passes him three cotton candies, one for each of us, and Kane strolls back and hands me and Knox a stick. I pull off a piece of the pink cloud and put it in my mouth. The super-sweet cotton candy hits my tongue, and it’s heavenly. Misty and I would eat this all day until we felt sick.
Kane’s eyebrow rises while he watches me eat. “Good?”
“So good,” I mumble, and a small smirk tugs on his lips.
We walk around the park, bypassing all the children’s rides, and before I know it, my legs have taken me to the ride I see in my dreams. I can’t stop staring at the carousel as I watch the young children travel around on it, smiling and laughing.
I hear a chuckle beside me and look at Kane.
“Out of all the rides, she liked this ride the best. The little kids’ ride.” He grins, remembering the past, and my heart warms at his smile.
My body stiffens as I spot the back of a young woman riding on the carousel. She has long, straight, blonde hair. When the ride turns and she faces us, my chin dips and my shoulders drop in disappointment. It’s not Misty but a woman with her young child.
Knox puts his arm around me and rubs my arm in soothing motions. I look up at him and can’t stop the tears from falling down my face. I slump into him, my head resting against his shoulder. Every time I see someone who resembles Misty, I experience a surge of hope in my chest. Until I find out the truth about what happened to her, I’ll always search for her.
Thirteen
Memories Bring Her Back
Knox
I let outa huge breath as the safety harness of the ride lifts above my head. As I slide out of the seat, when my feet land on the base of the ride, the rush fades. Zara and Kane are smiling, and I follow them off the ride and onto the ground. I stride up to them.
The thrill rides provide a short high, but being on my motorcycle, that’s a real rush. Being on the rides brings me back to when we were kids, and even I can admit it’s been worth it to see them both happy, even for a while, before the hell that tonight will bring.
It’s late afternoon, and I want Zara to eat something decent before tonight, as she always struggled to eat when she’s upset.
I tilt my head in the restaurant’s direction. “Follow me.” I know if I tell them about going, Zara might put the brakes on and refuse to eat.
It’s only a short walk until we reach the restaurant that overlooks the water. It’s a tapas bar called the Decadent Flame, where we used to go when celebrating events and birthdays when we were kids. When we reach the entryway, I dare to glance at Zara. She stares at me with her lips pressed into a hard line, but she doesn’t object, so I take that as a win.
We walk in and as we reach the hostess, the woman’s eyes bulge when she looks at me. Her eyes travel from my face to my cut, and she licks her lips. “Knox, we weren’t expecting you.” She peers over my shoulder. When her gaze falls on Zara, her eyes widen even more.
“Zara,” she says in an exasperated tone. She moves from behind the podium and steps to her, throwing her arms around Zara.
“I should have known you’d be back in Crown Village. After I finish here, I’ll be going to the vigil.”
