Since 1998

Chapter 10

"Impossible. I slipped it inside the mailbox," Anna said, her voice cracking.

"My uncle didn't see it either. Anna, please give me her number right now."

"Devin, I have her phone. We're using one phone. She didn't want-"

"What?"

"I'm trying to get home, Devin, but I don't know what to do. If I go back without her, her dad is going to kill me. I have to find her."

Devin hung up the phone. His mind raced. The beach. Right, she must be there. But a sudden thought flooded his mind. What if she went back home? What if she gave up waiting?

Lauren and Alex had just arrived home when they noticed the girls weren't around. But Lauren waved a dismissive hand.

"They might be on their way. In fact, it's still five in the afternoon."

But Alex couldn't hold his peace for long. "It's raining hard, Lauren. Really hard."

"Wait... I'll try to call her."

Lauren was still talking when Anna burst through the entrance, soaked and trembling.

Alex asked her right away, "Why are you alone? Where did you come from?"

Anna's throat went dry. She looked from Lauren to Alex, her mouth working but no sound coming out. She tried to think of a lie-anything-but her mind was a total blank.

"I'll go check on her in her room," Anna finally managed, turning toward the stairs.

But Lauren's voice cut through. "She's not here, Anna. We thought she was with you. Tell us the truth. Now."

Shit. I'm doomed.

Anna's legs felt like water. She turned back slowly, and in that moment, something in her expression, the panic, the guilt, told them everything.

"Where is Allison?" Alex's voice was quiet but terrifying.

With one phone call, Alex Ainsley turned the city upside down. He ordered every corner of Charleston dismantled until Allison was found.

Anna knew where Allison had gone. But she mentioned nothing about Devin.

"Mr. Ainsley, we're sorry-nothing yet," the officer said grimly. "The storm is getting stronger, and it's quite dangerous. But as soon as the rain slows down, we'll resume the search."

But even though Devin noticed the police searching as he passed by, he didn't care. He headed straight because he knew the way and the shortcut to their porch, where Allison might have gone. Even the storm couldn't stop him.

"So, it's happening again," Alex said, his voice cold. "South Carolina. Always South Carolina."

"She could be back at that same spot, Alex," Lauren snapped, her eyes flashing. "We can't just sit here. I won't stand by and let a storm stop me from finding my daughter."

​"The Hollingsworths are expecting us for the family meeting tomorrow," Alex countered, checking his watch. "We need to find her before dawn. Our image-"

​"Our image?" Lauren's voice rose to a frantic pitch. "How can you worry about family business more than your daughter's life? I'm not letting her experience the same-"

"The same what, Lauren?" Alex stepped into her space, his expression darkening.

Lauren didn't flinch. "The same regret of choosing you over what my heart actually wanted."

The silence that followed was sharper than the lightning outside. Alex stood frozen as Lauren turned on her heel and headed for the car, disappearing into the rain to find the daughter she refused to lose.

As the world panicked over her absence, the heavy rains had driven Allison into a desperate state. The rumbling dark sky tormented her, fear striking her like each gust of wind.

It was no longer safe to wait outside.

She knocked at the beach house door, but nobody answered. Then she looked up and saw it-a tiny light flickering in a second-story window.

"Hello? Somebody help me! Hello!" she called out, her voice swallowed by the storm.

Allison climbed toward the window of the second level, her fingers gripping the slick, modern framing of the glass house Devin had built. With desperate faith that someone, anyone, was inside, she pulled herself up. The sleek, elevated wall was slippery from the rising storm, but desperation gave her strength. A grin of hope shone on her wet face as she finally felt safe.

​But the window was unlocked.

​"Oh, thank God," she sighed. She pushed the glass pane open and peered into the dark room. It appeared empty until a splash of color caught her eye on the bed.

​"M-my kite..."

​For a heartbeat, the modern glass walls vanished. She wasn't standing in a cold, expensive house anymore; she was back on the old wooden porch that used to be here. She could almost hear the laughter of two children playing in the sun.

Then, the horizon strobed with a blinding, jagged flash. The memory shattered as the glass house ignited in white, and a frantic voice from below tore through the roar of the rain.

​"ALLISON!"

​She gasped. Her wet feet slipped from the narrow ledge. Her head struck the window frame, and gravity pulled her backward into the empty air, plummeting down the exterior of the glass house.

​But before she could hit the ground, Devin caught her, his arms wrapping around her.

​The impact took them both down, and they collapsed together into the wet sand.

​The rain lashed at them, cold and relentless. Yet, as Allison's skin brushed his, a surge of pure electricity rushed through her. Her head throbbed from the blow, but her heart beat was louder.

​"D-Devin..." she whispered, her voice cracking.

​"Allison, are you alright?" he rasped. He was trembling violently, his hands iron-tight on her shoulders as he looked down at her face, rain dripping from his hair.

​They stayed there, knelt in the mud and the salt spray outside the towering glass walls, caught in an agonizing, slow-motion stare.

​The silence between them was thicker than the storm itself.

​What is this feeling? Allison wondered.

​Allison finally pulled back just a fraction, her breath hitching. The freezing downpour didn't matter. They were both gasping for air, their chests heaving with the heavy pounding of their hearts.

​Then, Devin snapped out of his shock. His gaze softened, washing away the last of Allison's lingering shyness.

​"Allison."

​He didn't wait for her to say anything else. He pulled her forward and crushed her against his chest.