Page 24 of If Anything Happens To Me

I wanted to ask him more, but I felt uncomfortable—Chris was our friend. I didn’t want to seem suspicious. So I focused on our route. Now we were driving through a swirl of streets lined with smaller, regular-sized houses. The yards were not big, and I saw two tree houses and a jungle gym, some aboveground pools, and bikes in the driveways. Kids lived here. Families.

“Do any of these neighborhoods remind you of where you live?” I asked Iris.

“No,” Iris said, frowning. “Not at all. Why do I feel as if I didn’t grow up in a house?”

“In an apartment, then?” I asked, surprised. There weren’t really any apartment buildings nearby.

“I don’t think so,” Iris said.

Strange. Had she been raised in the wilderness? Was that why I found her in the woods? I felt it would be rude to ask that.

“If not a house,” Matt said, “where?”

“I’m trying to think,” Iris said. She bowed her head for a second. “What does any of this matter, anyway? I don’t care where I came from—I just want to find Hayley.”

“I know,” I said, trying to be patient. “But since we don’t have any idea where she is, you remembering where you were taken from could make a big difference. We’re not just looking for your home. We’re hoping you see something that will lead us to her.”

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s keep going.”

We drove through the small village of Black Hall, past the old white church, the chocolate shop, the magical art gallery that gave out the best candy at Halloween, the library, our high school, the inn and restaurant, and the wonderful museum where artists had painted panels in the dining room. Iris kept shaking her head—nothing. From there we crossed from our town into Silver Bay. We hit a red light, and while we were stopped, a familiar blue Prius pulled right next to us.

“Adalyn!” I called, rolling down my window. I had just been thinking of her, and feeling slightly guilty that we hadn’t talked or gotten together in a long time.

I would have expected her to smile, but she didn’t. She looked really upset and worried.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Not really,” she said.

I frowned. Had something happened to her that somehow connected to Iris? To Eloise?

I glanced at Matt. “I have to talk to her,” I said.

“We’ll pull into the boatyard,” he said, gesturing at the marina about a hundred yards up the road.

“Meet us there,” I said to Adalyn.

We parked side by side next to one of the docks. I jumped out, ran to Adalyn, and hugged her. I felt a pang over how I’d been avoiding her, over how much I had missed her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I feel like the worst sister in the world,” she said. “I was supposed to be feeding Thea’s kitten while she looks at colleges with our parents, and guess who escaped? Yep, you got it. The furry baby is gone. My sister will kill me. And she’ll be back any second. They called to say they’ll be home this afternoon. And no cat.”

“Oh no,” I said. “No wonder you’re upset.”

“Upset would be a step up. I’m a wreck. I’ve been driving around for over an hour, looking for the little thing. Where do kittens hide? What if she got taken by a fox or a coyote?”

“Don’t think like that,” I said. “Be positive. Maybe she’ll come back on her own.”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Adalyn asked, despair in her voice. But then she glanced at Matt’s Jeep and managed a smile.

“Really?” she asked.

I blushed because I knew exactly what she meant. Matt. She was completely aware of how I felt about him. “Yeah,” I said.

“How did this come about?”

“Well, I needed a ride.”

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