As we turned to head back to the house, I remembered Marissa and felt guilt at not including her from the moment I realized who was in the car. But as I searched the faces in the clearing, she was nowhere to be seen, causing my heart to drop further in my chest.
“What are you looking for?” Izzie asked as she followed my eyeline.
“It’s a friend I wanted to introduce you to,” I said with a downturn in my voice.
“Where are they?” Marcus asked as he searched the area too.
“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll meet up later,” I said, apologetically.
“Are you coming?” my father called out.
With a smile, I motioned for my friends to follow. As we walked, my mother kept pointing out various areas to our new guests while I hung back with the teens of the group.
“This place is amazing!” Alyssa said as
