Chapter 92

Amber’s POV

Watching Alice rush ahead, unwilling to talk to me, my heart ached. It wasn’t as if the source of her anger was any great mystery either. Alice had wanted Julian to be her father, so seeing Chase kiss me must have endangered that in her mind.

She was too young to understand that things between Julian and me were tumultuous at best. Or that this ‘kiss’ she witnessed between Chase and me had not been consensual. It was no sign of anything to come, other than my growing anger and betrayal towards Chase himself.

A six-year old didn’t understand that. She only saw the dream she wanted for her family falling apart before her eyes.

“Give her some time,” Anna said from behind me. “She’s always been emotional. Once she calms down and has a good cry, then she will likely want to talk and you two can clear the air.”

I wanted to believe that, but it was difficult knowing that my daughter was hurting. “What a day,” I sighed and pushed into the house. Anna followed along behind me, closing the door behind her.

Together, we moved into the kitchen, where I got two glasses from the cabinet. Anna went right into the fridge and retrieved the bottle of wine.

“Did you know Julian was going to be there?” she asked me.

“No idea,” I replied. “And he kept trying to talk to me about last night.”

“What did he say?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” I didn’t really hear him out at all. I didn’t want to talk about it, and I still didn’t. Olivia had also been a problem, interrupting before Julian could explain himself anyway. “And what had Olivia been doing there? Julian at least has been volunteering. Olivia had no reason to be there.”

“Why is she even in town?” Anna asked, before pouring the wine into the pair of glasses, one for each of us. “The answer? To mess with you and try to get with Julian. That’s all she’s ever been after.”

I had so many questions about what was happening with them. Maybe they were together, maybe they weren’t. But they definitely had enough drama to tie them together. Even thinking about it, and trying to unravel it all in my mind, filled me with exhaustion.

Anna put the cork back in the wine and returned it to the fridge. Then we grabbed our glasses and moved to the kitchen table. We both sat down. Anna sipped from her wine right away but I let mine sit there a little while longer, not drinking it.

Anna watched me for a moment before she asked, “Did you know Chase would try to kiss you?”

“He’s flirted since the day I’ve met him,” I told her, “But I never gave him any indication that I reciprocated…” I tried to think back, reevaluating each conversation, each interaction, trying to consider if I had accidentally hinting at wanting something more than I actually did.

I shook my head, coming up empty. “I just don’t know. But I hate that Alice saw it.”

“She would have eventually seen it anyway,” Anna said. When I gave her a look, she clarified. “Maybe not with Chase, but with someone. Alice has an idea that you and Julian should be together, but you don’t really want that yourself, do you? So, eventually, she would see you kissing someone else…”

I guessed that made sense. I couldn’t keep Alice in the dark forever about the rift between Julian and me. But she was still too young to fully understand, and I could see how she could be confused, seeing as how Julian treated her like a father.

Which he was.

Placing my elbows on the table, I buried my face in my hands. “Gods, what a mess.”

“It will be okay,” Anna said. “Alice loves you. She’ll get over this soon and come around, just you wait and see.”

I wanted to believe that, but I just didn’t know. Alice and I hardly ever fought. This felt like a new bridge to cross and I hated crossing it.

“I think I’m going to go check on her,” I said. I stood up from the table, leaving my drink behind forgotten.

Anna reached out and slid the glass over to her side. I’ll finish up then head back to my place.

Nodding, I started down the hallway to Alice’s room. When I came nearer, I saw that her light was out. Had she cried so hard she decided to just go to sleep? Or was she sobbing in the dark?

My heart lurched in my chest, and I knocked. “Alice, honey? Can we talk?” As I spoke, I turned the door knob and gently pushed the door opened. “Alice?”

I glanced first at the bed, but it was empty. Then I did a quick check across the entire room, but I saw no downtrodden outlines of my daughter. Flicking on the light, I saw the closet door was open, a few of Alice’s things were gone.

No. No, no, no…

This couldn’t be happening. She had to just be in the bathroom. Yet, when I stepped back into the hallway, I saw the bathroom door was opened, the light turned off.

“Alice?” I called, louder, some panic in my voice. “Alice, honey? Where are you?”

There was no response, at least not from Alice.

Anna called from the kitchen. “Amber? What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find Alice!”

Anna came to join me in an instant and we searched the entire house from top to bottom. Alice was nowhere to be found, but the front door was unlocked. Her backpack, jacket, and shoes were missing.

She must have sneaked out while Anna and I had been talking in the kitchen.

“Did she run away?” Anna asked me, concern in her voice to.

I tried to put myself in her shoes, imagining what she must have been thinking. To see Chase kissing her mom… To hurt because she Chase wasn’t the father she wanted…

Then it all became clear. “She might have gone to see Julian.”

Anna’s eyes went wide. “Call him! Quickly!”

My hands trembled as I reached for my phone.

Alice’s POV

This small town only really had one main street where all the stores were. Everything from the grocery store to the gas station to the hotel was located in one direction or another on this main road. Alice just had to find her way there.

Easy enough.

To the main road, at least. She was pretty sure she went in the right direction of the hotel, but it was a pretty far walk from her house, especially on her small legs.

Still, she was determined to make it there all on her own.

She had to talk to her dad and make sure he knew that he was the one Alice wanted for her father, not Chase. Maybe that would be enough to keep him in her life.

It was already dark by the time Alice had started on her trek, and though the streetlights and headlights of the passing cars were enough to light up the sidewalk, the long shadows of evening seemed full of dangers.

Alice held her arms around herself as she walked forward, for the first time feeling a bit nervous.

She wanted to be brave, but…

Then, two men stepped out of the shadow. They’d been standing behind a tree near the sign for the gas station. They had cigarettes in their mouths, the burning ends the first thing Alice saw.

“You lost, little girl?” one asked, his eyes like coal and his voice gravelly.

Maybe he was fine, but he gave Alice the creeps, an unpleasant shiver running up her spine.

Without answering, she took off in a run.

“Shit,” said the other man.

Alice heard their footfalls following her and she pushed herself faster.

Fortunately, she was almost to the hotel!

Yet, just as she turned down the sidewalk leading to the doors of the rooms, she ran head first into a pair of legs.

Looking up, she saw the legs belonged to Olivia.