Page 153 of Unexpected

I began filtering through the memories of anything Valerie had ever said to me. I went over and over it all. The wind picked up around us, and I held out my hand to Josh for the photos.

I gripped them tightly, shuffling them back into order and flipping through them. Her text messages didn’t contain much, and neither did our conversation at the restaurant. But recently, in the letters she sent to the clinic, there were three dates she mentioned, and they were fresh in my mind after reading her own version of each. Our first date was from the first letter, the date I proposed was the second, and the third was the night I almost killed that random guy for accidentally bumping into her.

She’d specifically mentioned those three for a reason—everything Valerie had done up until that point had been for a reason. And something told me in my gut that the answer had to do with that night at Murphy’s. If she wanted me to find her, I knew that’s where she’d go.

“Have you called work to tell them you won’t be there?” I asked Josh, who was staring intently at his phone.

“Reed is going over to Hazel’s apartment just in case, and no. The bar’s closed until Monday for the Thanksgiving holiday and Rhonda is taking the opportunity to do some renovations.”

“She’s at Murphy’s. Hopefully, they’re both there.”

“Whoa, whoa. I mean, fine, we can go by there, but you totally just came up with that out of left field. Care to explain your thinking?” Josh asked as I shoved the photos back into the manila envelope and jogged down the alleyway and back around the building.

“I’ll explain on the way,” I said, hearing Josh’s footfalls close behind me.

When we were both in the truck and I was flying down the highway, explaining my thoughts to Josh, I started to pray for the first time since my parents died. It felt like the right thing to do, and I knew I needed all the help I could find to get there on time or find Hazel at all.

FIFTY-FOUR

Hazel

All there was,was pain. Pain in my neck like small, hot needles pressing into my skin. Pain around my wrists and ankles burning like fire. Pain in my nose radiating up into my skull. Pain in my mouth because it was so dry.

I tried to suck in a breath through my nose, but the pressure was too intense, and my lungs didn’t want to receive the air as they fought against me. My hand reflexively tried to grasp my neck and my chest, but I couldn’t move.

My wrists were bound and rubbing at my nearly raw skin based on the burning ache.

My eyelids fluttered, but I couldn’t force them open. It didn’t feel like anything was hindering me from opening them besides my own exhausted body.

I was so tired.

With as much force as I could muster, I tried to move my legs, but as I thought, they were also bound. Even in my partially conscious state, I knew I was tied to a metal chair. I could feel the cold metal beneath me and through my jeans.

I groaned as the pounding in my head intensified and that’s when I realized my mouth was taped closed.

If it was possible in the moment, I would have begun panicking, but a thick fog was clouding every thought besides the pain. It was an all-consuming, mind-numbing pain that meant there wasn’t room for much else.

Nearby, I heard shuffling as I tried once again to fill my lungs with air. Just as I had comprehended the sound, the tape on my mouth was unceremoniously ripped from my face.

I’m not sure what sound left my mouth, but it was enough to make the person chuckle.

“You were out for a while, sweetie. I’m so glad you could join us.” I could feel the heat of the person—a woman based on the voice—standing right up against me, but her voice sounded like it was emanating from across the room, bouncing off the walls to reach me.

The room was spinning as I was able to open my eyes.

“I’ll give you a second to wake up.”

And she did. I could feel her warmth and the brush of her fingers was soft against my heated skin. She pushed my hair out of my face and gave me a few sips of water which did little to quench my miserable thirst.

My eyes opened wider this time, and the woman instructed someone else to turn down the lights. Without the brightness, it was easier to focus, but then, it was almost too dark to see anything that wasn’t a few feet in front of me.

It was hard to move my head at all without the excruciating pain, so all I could see of the woman right in front of me were her black jeans and belt. She brushed my hair back again and gave me another sip of water before she kneeled in front of me.

The black hair was familiar and so was the perfect symmetry of her heart-shaped face. Once my eyes focused, I realized who it was.

“Le—Lexi?” A simple name took more effort than had ever been necessary to croak from my dry lips.

Her mouth curled into a smile, and she barked a quick laugh.

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